Semper Fidelis
by Mojsengojs
Summary: "I'll get us out of here alive. I promise." The angels relives the experience that changed their lives forever, while Jill prepares to give birth. Written with BlueOrbs998. R&R! :D
1. Prologue

*** As usual I **_**do not**_** own Charlie's Angels or the characters except people you haven't seen in the show. This story is for entertainment/enjoyment purposes only. **

*** The story takes place after my other stories **_**(except the K/K-femslash ones)**_**. I do look back a lot, and it's less confusing if you've read past stories ^^**

*** As always, thanks to **_**BlueOrbs998**_** for your enthusiasm and support. :D**

*_** Also**_**. For the mention and better view of my stories, here's a list of which celebs would represent the different characters if this was a show! **

_**Aurore**__ - Mariska Hargitay, __**Janet**__ - Noomi Rapace, __**Sandra**__ - Naomi Watts, __**Kamili**__ - Lauryn Hill, __**Tommy**__ - Brad Pitt (HEHE), __**Ella**__ - young Sandra Bullock, __**Sarah**__ - young Nicole Kidman, __**Tara**__ - Angela Bassett_, _**Peggy Lou**__ - Dolly Parton (! :D)_, _**Yasmin**__ - young Gabrielle Union_.  
_**Now google those you don't know! ;D**_

_**Lyrics: Hero of War - Rise Against**_

**Okay, no more notes, on with the story!**

**

* * *

Semper Fidelis**

_A hero of war  
Is that what they see  
Just medals and scars  
So damn proud of me  
And I brought home that flag  
Now it gathers dust  
But it's a flag that I love  
It's the only flag I trust_

**Prologue. **

The sound of bombs blowing up houses, people, cars and land is a sound that is impossible to explain. It's a sound you have to experience by yourself to understand to its ultimatum, a sound that if you haven't experienced you will never be able to understand. And if you have experienced it you will probably never forget it. The world exploding around you, the eruption that shakes the Earth under your feet. And then, the silence that follows it. The roaring silence. The seconds of absolute dead air before hell will break lose again, where the sound of people screaming in pain, young children shrieking in fear and confusion as they kneel next to their dead parents, a mother leaning against a hot, red brick wall and howling in agony with her dead child in her arms. All those sounds can be explained easily in two words.

War.

Death.

The tall dark haired woman had turned off her ears as she was running through the neighborhood, her feet bouncing towards the hot sand, burning the soles of her shoes. She refused to listen to the world falling apart around her, she couldn't allow herself to listen. She knew it would give her nightmares if she did. Because the sound of war is horrible. She had imagined it before, her father being in the military she had grown up on different military bases, she had heard explosions and gun shots before. But she had never been in the middle of it, the heart of the civil war. She had never in her life even been close to understand the horrified screams echoing through the air.

But right now everything was quiet, except from the sound of blazing fires and her feet running through the sand covered ground.

When they had arrived here there had been several houses, buildings had been standing proudly against the hot air. The houses had pretty much been empty, people had already fled their homes. They had brought as many of their belongings that they could, but the homes were still fully decorated. Now there were just ruins. Everything had been destroyed as the bombs had been tossed in through the windows, sending everything shooting up into the air, burning it to nothing but ashes where smoke rose and mixed into the hot air from the still smoldering leftovers of what used to be homes filled with love and laughter.

Sabrina shook her head, and just ran faster through the neighborhood. She had long legs, and they carried her quickly over the sand as she tried to find her friends that she had left. She prayed over and over and over again that they would still be at the same place where they had been when she left them. And hopefully in the same state.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of gunshots, and her heart immediately begun pumping harder and faster. She wasn't sure where the shots came from, and she didn't know if they were aiming at her – but she was quite sure they were. Knowing Kelly was watching over her, she prayed her friend would cover for her. Sabrina couldn't do anything but run right now, and that was all she did. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but she stumbled in the sand. Her legs were tired, and her body was sore from flipping around inside a truck earlier. She tried to stay on her feet, but she was thrown face first right into the sand in the same second as she heard the sound from an explosion behind her. She laid still in the sand, panting for a few seconds before she felt through her limbs. Everything was still at the right place. Not wanting to waste another second, she sprung to her feet, grabbed the bag and the radio she was carrying, running the last part towards the building where she had earlier hurried out from.

Feeling more safe as she was inside, she hurried up the steps, exhaling for a second as she saw the door where they had been when she left them. She knocked three times on the door to warn them inside to not shoot her before she pulled the door open, but even so, she still had three gun barrels pointed towards her as she entered the room.

Normally, this would've seen like such an unrealistic scene, but right now it made total sense. Kelly was in the window with the M16A2, and she killed everyone without hesitating as they headed towards their hiding place. She didn't let anyone near the building, and she kept firing fatal shot after fatal shot, showing no mercy if they were wearing the wrong colors. She was protecting her friends - her family, even if it meant killing other people. She had lost count on how many lives she had taken since they first got here. She now turned towards Sabrina for a second as Sabrina entered.

"You okay?" Kelly asked worriedly, turning her attention back to the enemies outside, before hearing the answer, but still expecting to get one. She just didn't have the time to get distracted.

"Yeah. Luckily the truck blew up after I left it." Sabrina said, still standing in the now closed door.

"Yeah, I shot the tank of it to keep the others away." Kelly explained sternly, and normally Sabrina would've maybe rolled her eyes at her friend, and Kelly would've probably grinned. She loved blowing up things. But now was not the time for any jokes. This was a matter of life and death, including the other people in the room. Sabrina changed her attention to the blondes.

Jill was in the corner, keeping away from the window and any misled bullets. She had been pointing a M1911 semi-automatic pistol to Sabrina's head when Sabrina entered, but immediately brought it down as she saw her friend. Sabrina looked at Jill, her face was dusty from the sand, the sun had burned the skin off her nose and cheeks, her lips were dry and had cracked, and just to add to the misery in her face, tears were streaming down her brown face. Her eyes were fuming with anger, pain, fear, determination, love and hate. Kris were lying semi-conscious in Jill's lap, clutching to her big sister's military jacket. As Jill saw that Sabrina was back, she had lowered her weapon and went back to comforting her sister.

"Why don't you try to get some contact through the radio?" Sabrina asked the two men in the room, handing them the radio.

They just nodded as they took the radio out of her hands, immediately trying to get a signal to it. In the meantime, Sabrina walked up and knelt next to Jill and Kris, placing the medical bag next to the three of them.

"How are you doing kiddo?" Sabrina asked as she gently put her hand onto Kris' sun burned cheek. She felt the cold from her cheek immediately, and the realization that Kris was this cold in 110° heat scared her.

Kris slowly opened her eyes as she looked at Sabrina. Sabrina could see the pain and fear in Kris' eyes, and she gently rubbed Kris' cheek with her thumb.

"We'll get out of here. Just hang on. I'm gonna look you over, alright?"

Kris nodded slowly as Jill and Sabrina carefully rolled Kris over to the side, her face towards Jill's stomach, to let Sabrina have a look at Kris' shoulder. Jill was pressing Kris' military jacket towards the gun shot wound by the shoulder blade, and Sabrina gently moved it to see the damage underneath. She swallowed hard. There was just so much blood. The blood was absolutely everywhere, and Sabrina felt how she was doubting her ability to save her dear friend. She swallowed hard again, there was no one else here who could do it, she was the only one who would be able to help Kris, and she had to do it, right now. She looked up at Jill, who was on edge of breaking.

"You have to help her Bri." Jill whispered, holding onto her kid sister, her voice trembling and hoarse as she spoke. "You can do it right?"

Sabrina swallowed hard once again as she looked up at Jill. "The bullet is probably lodged in her shoulder blade and I'm gonna have to get it out."

"Do it Bri. I know you can do it."

Sabrina nodded, after seeing Jill's face and hear her pleading words, new determination grew inside of her. She was going to help the younger blonde, they could not afford to lose her and if she didn't get medical help, she would die here in Jill's arms. Bracing herself and thinking through what had to be done, she leaned over and opened the medical bag, pulling out some supplies as Jill kept talking to Kris, trying to keep her conscious and comforting her kid sister.

Sabrina was just about to attend to the wound as the building rocked underneath them, the horrible and ear piercing sound of an explosion was unmistakable as the world jarred under their feet.

They didn't even have time to scream.


	2. Contractions

**Wow! Guys! Thanks for all those reviews! Talk about making me happy! So I will celebrate by giving you this already! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Contractions**

Jill yelped and shot up into sitting position as she was jarred awake from the dream. She was breathing heavily, cold sweat running down her back and one of her arms was unconsciously rubbing her big belly button as she looked around, exhaling in relief as she realized she was home in her own bed. She felt a hand onto her sweaty back and she looked to her side where Damien was waking up, opening his groggy eyes, worried about his girl.

"Are you alright honey?" Damien asked worried as he sat up in the bed, observing Jill with weary eyes. She did not look too well, she was pale, breathing hard and sweating. Damien quickly sat up fully and pulled his arms around her.

Jill took another deep breath before she smiled to him.

"I'm fine, just had a nightmare."

"You sure? You want me to get you something?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm gonna take a shower."

Damien observed his girl as she lurched herself slowly out of bed, moving into the bathroom. He sighed and looked over at the watch, seeing he had another hour before he needed to get up. He smiled as he fell back into the bed, drifting off to sleep again.

Jill got out of her nightgown and moved into the shower. She had felt pain go through her as she woke up, not much but enough to shake her awake. She took another deep breath as she turned on the water, letting the hot rays of water soak her body. She put the palms of her hands towards the wall of the shower, leaning forward and arching her sore back, closing her eyes as she let the hot rays work their magic. Her back had been killing her the last weeks and she couldn't wait for the pregnancy to be over. She had passed her due date already and with the amount of food she had eaten the last time, she had grown absolutely huge. Her body was complaining and she was looking forward to get back to her 33 1/2B-22-33 figure.

The memories of the nightmare still echoed through her mind, the pictures still remaining on her corneas. She had had those nightmares for she didn't know how many years and she wondered if they ever would disappear? She knew the others had nightmares about that time too. Especially Kelly, but Sabrina and Kris too. Their memories and what they had gone through still haunted their subconscious, and as Jill stood in the shower, she stretched her hand over her shoulder put her hand on her upper back. She could still feel the scars. They were a constant reminder of the horror she had gone through. The horror they had all gone through. It was the hardest thing anyone of them had to go through and their lives were forever changed afterwards.

About an hour later, Jill was making breakfast when Damien walked into the kitchen. He saw Jill and walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and put his hands onto the big stomach as he kissed her neck. Jill jerked slightly as he touched the stomach, and she moved away from his touch, being tense and very uncomfortable. Damien immediately noticed, and he put a hand on her shoulder, turning her slightly so he could meet her face.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?" Damien asked worried. Jill never moved away from him.

"I'm sorry, the belly is just a little sensitive today." Jill said tiredly as she smiled lightly to Damien and gave him a kiss.

Damien observed her with a wakeful eye as he got a cup of coffee and sat down by the table were breakfast was being served. She looked tired he thought, which weren't surprising him because he knew she hadn't been sleeping well. The gnome, or Andrew, as Jill called the baby, had been very active lately and as he was practicing his kung fu moves, Jill had been kept awake by them. As Damien watched her, he noticed how she grabbed onto the counter with one hand, the other was frenetically rubbing the huge stomach, and in the same time she closed her eyes and doubled slightly. Damien let go of his cup of coffee and walked up to Jill, carefully putting his hand in her neck.

"Sweetie?"

Jill was breathing hard and she leaned in towards Damien as he slipped an arm around her waist.

"I'm okay Damien." Jill said in a small voice. "He's just kicking…."

"You sure? It didn't look like it."

"I'm okay, really. I'm just tired."

"Come on, why don't you lie down for a while. There will be another few hours before Kelly comes and you look like you're about to fall. Let's get you to lie down, okay?"

Jill nodded, and let Damien take her to the bedroom where she slipped down into the bed. Damien pulled the cover around her and kissed her head, staying seated with her in the bed. He pulled his fingers through her big hair as he observed her, and he realized maybe it was time for the baby to see the world.

"Jill? I'm going to call my friends and tell them I'll stay with you today, okay?"

"You don't have to do that Damien, you don't need to stay with me, I'm fine."

"I just want to be on the safe side. Kelly comes soon and if everything is fine by then I'll might go out, but I'll stay with you until then."

Jill nodded slowly, a small smile on her face. She was feeling kinda queasy and she didn't mind having her man with her as she was. He leaned down and kissed her before leaving the room to make the call, and Jill slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Jill? Sweetie?"

Jill slowly opened her eyes as she felt a hand on her cheek. She saw Damien sitting on the edge of the bed and she smiled slightly as she saw him smile to her, eyes filled with affection.

"Hey." Jill smiled as she opened her eyes. Damien tilted his head and looked worried at her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, but I'm okay." Jill said, and was just about to say something else as pain went shooting through her. She grabbed onto the stomach with her hands and winced as she felt it, and Damien immediately moved closer to her and put one hand on her stomach, the other hand on her shoulder that she had hurt a few months back. As Jill relaxed, he leaned over to brush her hair out of her face.

"I'll call Kelly and tell them that you're staying inside today."

"I'm fine Damien."

"You're having contractions Jill, you know you are. Stay in bed okay?"

Jill nodded slowly, she had already figured out too that it was contractions she was having. Her due date had been two days ago, and she was so tired of being pregnant, so a small smile spread onto her lips as Damien left the room.

Damien picked up the phone in the living room and called Kelly, who picked up not many signals later.

"Garretts."

"Hey, Kelly, it's Damien."

"Hey D, what's up?"

"I know you're supposed to go out and have lunch with Jill today, and I know you were supposed to pick her up, but I think it's better if you guys come here instead of her going out."

"Why's that?"

"She's having contractions, they are still about half an hour away from each other, but she's definitely in labor. I've been sitting with her and clocked her, and they come regularly."

"I'll call the others and we'll come over there instead and keep you guys company."

"Great, thanks Kelly."

Damien hung up the phone in the same time as he heard the door bell ring. He walked over to it and opened the door, to reveal a huge amount of blonde hair standing in the doorway. A bright smile was covering half of Peggy Lou's face as she saw Damien.

"Howdy Damy! I bought cookies and I thought we should watch TV!"

"Actually Peggy, I don't think now is the best time…" Damien said, but was immediately cut off by Peggy.

"Is something wrong! With Jillie Lou!"

Peggy dropped the bag of cookies she had brought and dived in under Damien's arm, hurrying to Jill's bedroom. Jill had jumped up against the white bed-foot and was resting with her head back and her hands on top of the enormous belly.

She bounced a foot up into the air as Peggy Lou threw herself down in the bed. Jill opened her eyes in shock as she landed back in the bed, wondering where the earthquake had come from, and her eyes grew wide as she saw Peggy Lou. No. Not now. Peggy Lou had lived with Kelly and Aurore for a month and since Jill loved spending time at Kelly and Aurore's, she had to deal with the sister too. She couldn't stand her though, she was too blonde, too loud and too … southern. But Peggy didn't seem to notice Jill's annoyance, she more saw the two of them as absolute best friends and Peggy Lou was always following Jill around as a faithful tail.

"Are ya okaay?" Peggy asked and Jill couldn't help but to smile gently as she saw the fear and worry in Peggy Lou's eyes. She was genuinely frightened.

"I'm okay Peggy." Jill smiled as she reached for Peggy's hand. "The contractions started."

"AMAGAD! Ya'll have a baby! NOW? Horny toads, we have to get ya to a hospital!" Peggy exclaimed, jumping out of bed with her arms flailing. Jill sighed deeply as she watched how Damien grabbed onto Peggy Lou and held her still.

"Peggy. We don't need to get to the hospital yet, there's still plenty of time to go. If you want to stay here, you have to stay calm okay? I don't want Jill to be in unnecessary stress and I don't want you to be the cause of it."

Peggy nodded drastically, making her blonde hair hit Damien in the face.

"I'll stay calm!" Peggy Lou smiled brightly as she hurried back to Jill's side, putting her hand on top of Jill's belly. "I'm gonna be an aunt!"

Jill stared tiredly at the nineteen year old and sighed loudly. Peggy Lou had way too much energy. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Kelly, Kris, Aurore and the three angels came into the house about an hour later. They had brought food from their favorite restaurant and they gathered up into the living room. Jill was sitting up in the couch dressed in a big light pink night gown in silk, just recovering from a contraction, and Peggy was sitting next to her side, holding her hand. Damien was also next to her, and Peggy Lou jumped out of the couch as the others came inside. She bounced over to Kelly and Aurore and tossed her arms around Aurore's neck.

"She's havin' a babie!"

Kris walked around Peggy and slid down into the couch on Jill's free side, slipping down close to her sister and putting her hand onto Jill's back, rubbing it gently, guessing her back was very sore. She remembered her own back had been absolutely killing her during the contractions. She was glad her sister didn't have to face the contractions alone, she had a lot of support with her today. At least Kris didn't have any plans on leaving Jill's side.

"Hey sis, how are you doing?" Kris asked gently as she kept rubbing Jill's lower back, noticing Jill relax slightly as Kris began massaging the sore and tender area.

"I'm fine, just a little bit tired."

"Have you called her doctor?" Kelly asked and Damien shook his head.

"AMAGAD we forgot to call tha doc!" Peggy Lou exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, waving them around in panic. "I shoulda thought of thaaat!"

"Peggy, don't worry. I'll go ahead and do it." Damien said, leaving Jill's side and walked over to the phone.

"How long has it been going on?" Kris asked, brushing the hair away from Jill's sweaty forehead as Jill put her head on Kris' shoulder, not having the strenght to keep herself upright.

"A couple of hours. I felt the first as I woke up this morning." Jill said tiredly as she recovered from the last contraction. They were definitely getting stronger already.

"Jill?" Damien asked to get her attention as he held the phone towards his shoulder. "You still wanna do it naturally?"

"Yeah." Jill nodded and Damien went back to the phone.

"You're insane. Why are you doing it naturally?" Kris asked, shaking her head. Her sister was nuts. Although, that did not come as a surprise.

"I heard it's better for the baby and the mommy." Jill smiled.

Kris rolled her eyes and looked at her sister with a questioning look. Kris looked over at Kamili and met her eyes, and Kamili shrugged her shoulders.

"Give her a couple of hours and I promise you, she'll be begging for all the painkillers in the world." Kamili smiled as she remembered her own labors and Kris nodded in agreement.

"If I ever get another baby, I'm gonna use every damn drug there is to keep me out of there." Kris chuckled, the others laughing with her. Kamili hadn't been in the team at the time, but Janet and Sandra still remembered watching and coaching Kris through those painful contractions.

To get her mind off what was going on, Jill tried to reach over to the table to try and steal a box of Chinese food. Her belly was in the way though and she didn't have enough energy to move around for the moment. The others watched in amusement before Kris reached over and gave her the box.

"Here you go Miss Walrus." Kris smirked as she handed Jill the box, Jill seething loudly as she grabbed the box from her sister's hands. The two of them and everyone else in the room looked up at Peggy Lou who was giggling hysterically. They all looked at her with questioning eyes as Peggy tried to make a stern face, failing miserably.

"Heheheh Miss Walrus…" She kept giggling as the others rolled their eyes.

"Are you guys on a case right now?" Jill asked, stuffing food in her mouth.

"We're not." Janet smiled. "Still doing paperwork, Kam is still healing."

Kamili looked up at Janet with a gentle smile. It had been four weeks and she was doing a lot better, but she still had a lot of shape to work her way back to. She was still no where near where she once had been.

"Same here." Kris said. "We're still trying to build up the team."

"How is that going?" Janet asked carefully. Kris has lost big part of her team months ago when their boss has turned against them, and there had been some tough times for all of them since that case. Kamili was the one of them who had been hurt the worst, but she had recovered amazingly well. She still got out of breath and had irregular heartbeats from time to time, but she was taking everything at the pace she felt comfortable at, and she was doing good.

Kris' ankles had broken as she had fallen down into a well, and after removing the casts she had been doing a lot of physical therapy. She was still slightly unsteady and uncomfortable, but she was doing a lot better too. Her crutches was still always near her, unless she used something – or someone – else as support.

"Well, not so good to be honest. Tommy and Peter are both fine and they are both interviewing people left and right, but I'm wondering if I can keep going in the FBI. I've thought of career changes, but I haven't decided anything yet." Kris said, whereupon the others nodded. The room got quiet afterwards, all of them eating in silence for a couple of minutes before Kamili opened her mouth.

"What's in the boxes?" Kamili asked, wanting to change the subject and get them all to talk a little. Having had a baby herself, she knew Jill was going to need to have something to do to get her mind off the labors when they started coming frequently and they should start getting her mind off it now already.

Damien returned and sat back down at Jill's side, putting his hand on her back.

"What did the doctor say?" Kelly asked, eating from the same box as Aurore, Aurore offering it to Kelly. Being a chef, she didn't completely agree with the mixture of flavors in this cheap take out boxes. Kelly, nor the others, seemed bothered by it though and happily kept eating.

"He told us to keep clocking the labors and they are expecting us when we come."

"Good." Kris smiled, patting her sister's leg. "Now what's in the boxes?"

Jill looked over at the four large boxes stuffed up against the wall, and she smiled slightly.

"I've been sorting out pictures, putting them into albums." Jill smiled.

"May I?" Sandra smiled, being the one closest to them.

Jill nodded and Sandra pulled up an album, beginning to flip through it. Janet and Kamili were both looking over her shoulder and they smiled and giggled as they saw all the old pictures. Some of them were as Kris and Jill as kids, some from the police academy, both Kris' and Jill's graduations, and random pictures from all different times of ages. All three of them stopped when they found a picture of Kelly, Kris, Jill and Sabrina, all four of them dressed in army uniforms. They all had rifles hanging from their shoulders, and all of them seemed nervous and upset.

"Wow, you all been in the military?" Sandra asked, turning the album to show the others which picture they had found.

"Oh." Kelly sighed, looking away. Aurore looked up at her with worried eyes, seeing that Kelly immediately grew tense. That was obviously not one of the better memories she had. Aurore remembered once when the two of them had been going through some of Kelly's old stuff when Aurore moved in to give her some more room. Aurore had found a black box and as she opened it she had found a Medal of Honor. Aurore had asked Kelly about it, being the highest military decoration awarded by the US government. Not many people had been rewarded with that, and Aurore had of course been curious. She didn't even know Kelly had been in the military, Kelly had never mentioned it. She had asked Kelly about it, and Kelly had simply answered that she didn't want to talk about it. Aurore had never pushed her to talk, knowing how private Kelly could be, also knowing that pushing her wouldn't get her to talk, Kelly would just tense up and lock herself into a shell. Kelly had also immediately tensed up when Aurore showed it to her, and something told Aurore that it gave Kelly nothing but bad memories.

"When and where was this?" Kamili asked curiously, being in the military herself she immediately grew curious at hearing what these four had gone through.

"1979, Afghanistan." Kris said, and shuddered.

"That is soo cool!" Peggy Lou exclaimed, pulling the album towards her and began flipping through it, not even seeming to have noticed that Jill, Kelly and Kris had tensed up completely at the mention of the picture.

"Did you work on a case or…?" Sandra asked confused, surprised that Charlie would send them to such a location at the time.

"No, actually, Charlie had nothing to do with it. It's a long story…" Kelly said, and all the others could hear in her voice that she really wasn't fond talking about it. Her entire body language told everyone that they should drop the subject before it got too intense. It was very easy to see that this was a very sore subject to Kelly, and Jill and Kris had tensed up too, all looking very uncomfortable. Damien and Aurore were observing them closely, knowing that their girls had nightmares due to this case. They had never heard them talk about it except while they were talking in their sleeps as they were having nightmares.

Everyone looked over at Jill who was leaning back into the couch, resting towards Damien as she was eating out of the box. She smiled as she swallowed.

"Well, we seem to have the time."

"I don't wanna talk about that time." Kelly said, looking down at her hands.

"Come on Kelly. It was a long time ago and we all survived. We've never talked about it to anyone, especially not to each other, and I think it could be a good thing to do. To get it out of our systems once and for all. I know I still have nightmares, I actually had one tonight, and I know you and Kris still have nightmares too, I'm sure of it. Talking about it could be very good for all of us and it's definitely about time. It's been 5 years Kell."

"It must be a hell of a story." Janet said quietly, the others hardly daring to talk. Even Peggy was siting still on the rug on the floor, her mouth closed.

"It is." Kris said, being tensed too. She was playing with her hair, not really knowing what to do to keep her hands busy. Memories replayed in her head, and it felt like it was just days ago since they had returned from the civil war that had been going on down there. It had been one of the most horrible experiences she'd ever had to go through and they had all been very lucky to even be sitting here today. It had been a miracle.

"I don't want to talk about it." Kelly said sternly. "But if you really feel like sharing it with all our now curious friends here, then you talk about it."

"Okay. I'll talk about it." Jill said as she turned towards Kamili, Janet, Sandra, Aurore. Peggy and Damien who were already listening with big ears, all of them very eager to hear the story. "Once upon a time, there were four little girls…"


	3. Flashback

**Wow, guys, thanks for those reviews, what a start! Here is a short chapter for you guys, I'll have the next up soon, I promise!  
And oh, happy 4th of July to all you Americans reading! :) **

_**Lyrics:**_**  
Rise against - Entertainment  
Paul McCartney - Freedom**

**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Flashback.**

_Is this only entertainment  
Pull the curtains, places please  
We've learned to sing and dance and cry on cue  
But this is more than entertainment  
In a world so sick with pain  
This is the only thing that's real or true_

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not cutting my hair." Kelly said strictly to the Staff Sergeant who was standing in front of her. "There's no way. I have an allergy, I need to keep my hair on my head. I will stuff it up under the hat."

The Staff Sergeant rolled his eyes as he turned towards Kris. "And you feel the same?"

"Yes! I can't cut my hair either. I need it. It's very important. I have a head disease too. Hair is important. Besides, we can tuck it away. It won't be in the way of anything, promise. Sir." Kris agreed.

The Staff Sergeant shook his head as he let it go. He looked down into his papers, looked around among the Privates standing in front of him. He turned back to Kris.

"Munroe! Where's your sister?"

Kris looked around and then pointed towards the parking lot. Jill was sitting on the hood of a Porsche, another Staff Sergeant was standing next to her, and they were openly flirting.

"MUNROE!" The Staff Sergeant shouted and Jill jumped down from the hood, running back to the gang.

"What were you doing over there?" Staff Sergeant asked and Jill smiled.

"I've got a date tonight."

The Staff Sergeant look at her for a while before rolling his eyes.

"Get back in line Munroe."

"Yes Staff Sergeant!" Jill smiled as she jumped in next to her sister.

"I guess you too Munroe doesn't want to cut your hair either? Allergy?"

"Yes sir, no sir. You can't cut my hair."

"And why is that?"

"I'm not gonna be here for that long. It's all a big mistake. I'm not an army girl. I don't belong here. It wouldn't be nice to a girl to cut her hair off when she's not supposed to be here. It just isn't fair. You know, my hair is like my trademark. I need my hair. Sir."

The Staff Sergeant sighed loudly as she turned his back towards them, and Jill smiled brightly to Kelly, Kris and Sabrina.

"Good thing Jill, get on his nerves on the first day. He won't save your ass if we get out into the field." Kelly said quietly.

"Well, they are gonna solve this mistake soon and take us home, and I'm planning on going home with the Sergeant."

Kris, Kelly and Sabrina all shared one of the usual eye rolls that they all had come so accustomed too. No matter what the situation was, Jill could always find a date. It didn't surprise anyone.

* * *

A few hours later the girls were chilling in one of their racks, playing cards with each other. They had gone through a very tough endurance test earlier, running in a line before they were immediately thrown onto the obstacle course. The showers and beds afterwards had never been screaming louder for them.

"So, this is a rack?" Jill asked as she patted the bed. She was having a lot of trouble with the military-lingo.

"Yes, bed is called a rack. Moonbeam is a flashlight. A shirt is a blouse." Sabrina said.

"A pen is an ink stick and the wall is…"

"A bulkhead Jill. I thought you actually went through the training with Kelly?" Kris asked as she leaned back against the wall, looking over her cards, knowing very well that she was losing this hand, but wondering if she could win over Jill anyway by putting on a great poker face.

"I did, but I…"

"Didn't pay attention." Kelly smirked as she threw away two cards. "She was busy flirting with officers."

Kelly got an elbow to her ribs just as the door opened and the Staff Sergeant suddenly walked in through the door. Everyone jumped out of their racks and stood in a perfect line next to each other as the Staff Sergeant walked into the room. He held a file filled with papers into his hands and he quickly began reading from it, telling everyone about their duties and what to do for the rest of the day. Kelly rolled her eyes when she saw how Jill's face lit up as she was signed to the kitchen. Kelly had been signed to the armory, Sabrina to the infirmary and Kris to offices.

As the Staff Sergeant left they all began taking their stuff and heading out of the barracks.

"So unfair that Jill gets to be in the kitchen while I have to do paper work for the sergeants." Kris muttered as she walked next to her family, all the other soldiers in front and behind them.

"I am gonna have a blast!" Jill smiled, there was no way she could wipe the smile of her face. She was looking forward to this.

All of them sighed heavily as Jill walked away to the kitchen, and all four of them split in different directions.

"Name private?"

"Kelly Garrett sir." Kelly stated as she walked inside. The sergeant in the room looked through his papers and nodded, then pointed over towards an entire wall with M14s. Kelly had a feeling what she would do for the rest of the day and she was really not looking forward to it. At least she knew she wouldn't have to do it alone cause there were plenty more privates to help. The sergeant took the others names too and jotted down a signature before he pointed over to the wall again.

"Clean those. I wanna see my reflection in them when you're done."

Kelly nodded. She had been waiting for that comment. Walking over the the weapons she sat down and grabbed the first one, quickly and with a skilled hand she dismantled the black rifle, spreading the pieces out over the table before grabbing a gun patch and began cleaning it.

In the same time, Sabrina walked into the infirmary, and walked up to the desk. She was not alone either, a couple of guys were walking around her. At the desk, they all stated their names and was then given different things to do, and Sabrina found herself in the medical supply, sorting up among the medications. Already as she walked inside she saw that this would take some time, there was a lot of stuff, and everything seemed out of order.

Sighing loudly, she decided to just get it over with.

Kris walked into the building where the offices were located, and as she walked she could feel how one of the other guys were giving her looks frequently. Feeling slightly uneasy, she looked up at him and stared him right into his eyes as she raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry for staring. It's just not often there are pretty girls like you and your friends in the military." The guy said in a soft voice.

Kris smiled to herself. She recognized flirting when she heard it.

"Well, none of us chose to be here really, but trust me, we are tough chicks and we know what we're doing."

"I believe you. I saw Garrett in the shooting range this morning. I'm happy as long as she's not aiming for me, that would be painful I guess."

Kris smirked as she nodded.

"It would."

They kept talking as they walked, and they hadn't even reached the office building before they heard the roaring of tires. Everyone turned around and Kris sighed as she saw her sister sitting behind the wheels in a jeep, smiling happily as she pressed the gas pedal into the floor. Steering the jeep hard to the side, she blew up a huge cloud of dust in her kid sister's direction, and the entire gang heading towards the offices turned around and covered their faces.

"Kris! Come on!"

Kris wondered if she was jumping onto a suicide mission when she got onto the jeep, but another part of her was very curious to see what was going to happen. With Jill, excitement and new adventures was always just around the corner. She jumped into the car and got into the backseat behind Jill as they came to a sliding stop outside the infirmary. People had walked outside to see what all the commotion was about and Sabrina looked like she was ready to fall through the ground when she saw the sisters.

As the two blondes waved at her she hurried over to them and got into the backseat next to Kris, and Jill put the gas pedal to the floor and drove to pick up Kelly, who had walked outside to see what the fuzz was too. Jumping into the car, Jill headed out from the base, leaving a huge cloud of white-brownish sand behind them.

"Jill, what are you doing?" Kelly screamed as she held onto the door for dear life as the green jeep ran over the dunes.

"Do you know what they were gonna make me do? DO YOU KNOW!"

"We don't know Jill, but what could be so bad that you decided to hotwire a jeep and drive us out of here?" Sabrina asked, smirking as she did because she had already guessed out the answer.

"Potatoes! Peel damn potatoes! I HATE potatoes!" Jill cried out as she did a sharp turn.

Everyone in the car couldn't help but to laugh when they watched the sadness in Jill's face, all her features drawn together into a pout. Kris patted her sister's hair and Jill shined up as she drove the car out onto a highway, starting to sing Paul McCartney's "Freedom."

" _This is my right, a right given by god  
To live a free life, to live in freedom"_

_

* * *

_"Jill seriously. If we're gonna tell the story, you should at least tell it as it actually happened, not make stuff up." Kris sighed as she was leaning back into the couch, her arms crossed over her chest.

Jill was leaning back too, still singing the same song, with her mouth filled of food. Peggy Lou smiled at her as she began singing together with Jill, and the two of them broke out into song.

.

"_We talkin' about freedom  
Talkin' bout freedom  
I will fight, for the right  
To live in freedom."_

_.  
_

"Hey you two, enough." Kelly sighed, and Jill and Peggy both looked up at her, closing their mouths.

"So that's not what happened?" Sandra asked, as she placed her empty box of food onto the table.

"No, not really. Life wasn't even close to anything that easy." Kelly sighed as she looked like she was examining her for the moment very interesting nails. She didn't want to meet the others faces.

"Well, my story is a lot more fun." Jill smiled and both Kelly and Kris gave her a nod. They could agree on that at least.

"We wanna hear the real version." Kamili said enthusiastically. She was looking forward to hear what they gone through, if there was anything like what she had done and if they could compare and discuss.

"Kelly?" Kris asked, motioning for Kelly to start. Kelly looked up at Kris for a second, and their eyes met. No one spoke for what felt like an eternity, and anyone who didn't know these people would say no one was talking. But if you knew Kelly and Kris you would know the two of them spoke through their eyes. Kelly was telling Kris she didn't want to tell the story, and Kris told Kelly that Kelly was the one that would have to tell it – it's pretty much Kelly's story. She was the one that had been honored with the Medal of Honor afterwards, and Kris still remembered that that. She didn't remember everything from the actual field though. Jill didn't know everything that had happened either, so it was only logical that Kelly who had the whole story would tell it.

Kelly sighed out loudly before she started, like underlining that she was doing this against her will, but when she looked around, everyone was observing her every motion like when kids gather around Santa Clause on Christmas.

"Well. It all started like a completely normal day in the office. Jill's racing season had just ended and she was home in LA. I arrived secondly to the office, after Bosley of course, and I could tell immediately when I walked into the room that something was wrong. The air was too thick and too blue. Something in Bosley's facial expressions told me that something was or was about to get very, very rough. I just had never imagined what happened next..."


	4. The beginning

_**Lyrics: Rise Against - Survive  
(If you haven't got it yet, I like Rise Against and their music will be the main music through out this story! Their music is just perfect for the mood I want to create here :D)**_

_**And maybe a warning... There's "bad language" in this chapter and probably in most of the others too! If you're sensitive, read with care :)  
**_

**

* * *

Chapter 3 – The beginning**

_Life for you, has been less than kind  
So take a number, stand in line  
We've all been sorry, we've all been hurt  
But how we survive is what makes us who we are_

.

"Morning Angels." Charlie's voice came out of the speaker box, and all four angels could immediately tell something was wrong. Not only did he leave out a very important word into his greeting, but his voice was strained and filled with concern. It was not often they heard his voice sounding like this, and they knew it meant trouble on incoming.

"Not good?" Kris asked as she handed a cup of coffee to her sister who was sitting in the couch next to Kelly. Sabrina was standing by the bar and as she heard Charlie's voice she instinctively walked closer and stood up behind Bosley.

"We seem to have a problem my dear Angels. A problem I'm working on getting you out of, but haven't been able to at the moment."

"What's that problem?" Kelly asked, sitting down into one of the chairs in front of the desk, next to Sabrina.

"Bosley?" Charlie said, and Bosley pulled out two envelopes from his file. He handed one to Kelly, who opened it with curious eyes. She read it quiet first and her eyes grew wide in shock.

"Charlie?"

"I'm sorry Angel. I've been in phone calls all day yesterday but there's nothing I can do right now."

"What does it say?" Jill asked curiously.

"I've been called in to the army, for the civil war going on in Afghanistan."

"What?" Sabrina burst out as she grabbed the note, snatching it right out of Kelly's hand. "Oh God, this is accurate…"

"Why is Kelly being called in to the army?" Jill asked surprised.

"Jill, you are too. There's an identical mail for you." Bosley said with dread in his voice. He did not want his girls to be send off to such a dangerous place.

Jill's eyes grew wide in bewilderment and she jumped up from her seat, hurrying over to the desk and knelt in one of the arm chairs placed in front of it.

"How? Why?" Kris asked as she put the cup of coffee down, scared to spill anything of the hot liquid into her lap.

"Why would they call in us? We've never been to the military… Oh." Kelly said, stopping herself when she remembered the case at a military base a few years ago. She and Jill had been in the army while Sabrina had been a nurse. "Charlie! You were supposed to get us out of the army after that case was closed!"

"I did! There must've been a mix up with the papers or something, I'm looking into it, but there's nothing I can do right now. I'm afraid you have to go."

"Charlie, you can't send them to Afghanistan!" Kris protested.

"Kris, calm down…" Jill tried, but it was no use. Kris flew out of the chair and rushed over to the desk just like her sister had done seconds earlier.

"I'm serious! It's war there! They only have basic army training! What if anything happens?"

"Kris, I'm worried too, but there's nothing I can do about it." Charlie excused himself. "I can't get Jill or Kelly out. Not yet."

"They go by themselves while we sit here and worry Charlie, that's insane." Sabrina said, worried about her two friends.

"Well, I can get the two of you in too if you want to be with them. It's easier to get people into the army than out of it." Charlie said in a monotone voice.

"I'm in." Kris immediately said, making both Kelly and her sister turn towards her.

"No you're not." Jill backfired. "No way."

"Jill, I want to make sure you're alright over there!"

"We maybe only have basic military training, but you don't even have that! You'll be killed Kris!" Jill said, her voice cracking with fear.

"I want to go. I can handle action in the field. I can run and I know how to fire a machine gun. I have more common sense than you do Jill. What else do I need to know?"

Jill and Kelly sat quiet in shock as they both looked at Kris, before Sabrina cleared her throat.

"Can you get us in Charlie? If Kelly and Jill are going, we are definitely going with them."

"I knew you would say that. I've already applied both of you and you've both been granted access. But Sabrina, since you have a medical background, you're going in as a field doctor."

Sabrina nodded slowly, before speaking up as she realized Charlie couldn't see it.

"Fine Charlie."

Millions of emotions were going through her. She had no idea what she liked of the idea of being a doctor in the field, but she had studied medicine in school for three years, and she had worked as a nurse before joining the police academy. One of them having medical training and would be having medical supplies in case something happened, but if something horrible happened and she wouldn't be able to save one of the others… She was afraid to just think about it.

* * *

Kris and Jill turned their heads as they heard someone whistle as they walked by, but Kelly and Sabrina didn't even seem to have heard it as they walked into the barrack with their bags on their backs. They were already dressed in green military clothes and were sweating their buns off in the blazing sun. It had hit them immediately as they stepped off the airplane in Afghanistan not too long ago, and after a helicopter ride they had now landed in the US military camp.

Men in their mid and late 20's were sitting around at the camp, cleaning rifles, playing cards, sitting around talking. Some were running around playing soccer, but whatever they were all doing, everyone stopped and looked up at the women entering their base. Woman at the base was not a usual sight and all mens testosterone immediately kicked in.

"Ladiiies! Welcome!" A man called from behind them. "May I offer you a tour! First the camp and then my pants! What do you say?"

Violent laughter was heard around the base, and Kris instantly walked closer to her sister. She was not feeling very safe here, and she wondered if she had made a mistake. The men were clingy, hollering things after them as they passed and she wondered how far they could go to show themselves macho in front of their friends. Kris looked up at the others, Kelly and Sabrina didn't seem bothered at all, while Jill was sending glances towards her sister. She nudged her arm and gave her a supporting smile, in the same time as three men stopped their path, standing in front of the four girls with their arms crossed over their bare chests. They were some of the guys that had been playing soccer, and the one in the front, obviously the leader, wiped the drops of sweat away from his forehead and neck with a towel as she grinned towards the angels. The man looked over all of them, before he reached his hand towards Kelly and pulled his fingers through her brown curls.

"Pretty ladies. I don't know what you're doing here, cause this is no place for girls, but I do think we can have a lot of fun in the barracks. Military life sure got better now." The man grinned devilishly, to the point where Kris could feel her stomach turn. The man was radiating such pig behavior like nothing Kris had ever seen before and she knew from the second she saw him that he would mean a lot of trouble. He just seemed like the kind of guy that had to push women down to prove himself worthy, a man being macho to the point where he was making a complete fool of himself. The men around him had mixed feelings about him, they both thought he was a pig, always showing off and doing inappropriate things, but they also envied him a little. That he actually dared.

Kelly wasn't going to let herself be touched by anyone though, and before the man had even taken another breath, Kelly had grabbed the hand he had in her hair, and she had flipped him over her shoulder, putting her black combat boot towards his neck, pushing him to the sand. The guys around them that had been laughing suddenly got quiet, staring at the scene playing out in front of them, wondering if they should help their leader out or laugh in his face.

Kelly never said a word to the man on the ground, she just stared him dead into his eyes with a cold glare that literally gave him goose bumps, before she took her boot away from his throat and kept walking with her back straight and her head held high. His friends moved out of the way and let them walk by, none of the guys daring to speak until the four ladies were out of sight, disappearing into the barracks. The guys broke out in hysterical laughter once again as the man Kelly had knocked over, Martin Ylves, jumped to his feet and brushed the sand off his green clothes. Had he just been flipped to his back by a girl? He felt his face burn up, not only from the sun but from the embarrasment. He was not going to let these girls embarrass him in front of his brothers. No way.

"Wow, how are you in field if a girl can do that to you in camp Marty?" His only real brother in the gang, Jonathan Ylves, mostly known as Jono, laughed as he walked up to his older brother, putting his hand on top of Martin's wide and muscular shoulder.

Martin immediately brushed him off and shoved him away, angry with the brunette and angry with himself for letting her do it.

"She will not get away with that." He growled, looking at his brother. "She will not get away with it."

"That brunette had some fire in her eyes. She's gonna be bad ass in the field, I can tell."

"Then you go with her!" Martin snapped, angrily stomping away from the scene.

"Oh come on bro! Don't be so damn pissed. They obviously got more spunk than we thought. We can have fun with them I'm sure." Jono grinned, hurrying after his brother.

"Oh trust me. We will. Did you see that blonde? The nervous one? She's our way in, she is vulnerable and the rookie, I could tell. She doesn't want to be here. I'd say we take on her first. We can have fun with these girls, and we will." Martin laughed as he pulled his arm around his brothers neck, brotherly fighting him down to the ground.

_

* * *

_

.

_An obvious disinterest, a barely managed smile  
A deep nod in agreement, a status quo exile  
I shirk my obligations, I miss all your deadlines  
I excel at quitting early, and fucking up my life_

.

Kris was leaning against the wooden wall of the shower in the barracks where they had been staying the last five days, closing her eyes and letting her mind fly free as she wondered about for how long they would be here, for how long they would have to stay, and what trouble they could get into. Her body was already screaming from excruciating pain from their work outs and she was feeling dizzy from exhaustion. The obstacle courses was not like anything she had imagined, and she was very happy that she, and her friends and sister, were all in very good shape. The constant screaming was getting to her head too, the sergeants weren't even close to sweethearts and she had already been called every inappropriate nickname there were in the book of harassment. Her mind was asking her what the hell she had signed up for, voluntarily. Had she actually agreed and suggested that she would be sent off to war? How stupid could she be? But she knew there was no way she would want Kelly, Jill or Sabrina to go out on this without her. If something happened to them here, she wanted to be close to them. She didn't want to hear it from Charlie. She had to be here. It was the only option – and it was too late for second thoughts right now.

Kris was lost in her own thoughts and didn't even hear the door open, and she didn't hear the three men walk into the showers with grins on their faces.

"And people said women shouldn't be in the army? I don't mind this view." Martin said, Jono and their constant companion Wally laughing along with him, causing Kris to turn around in horror.

The men were smirking devilishly as they began to walk up to her, Kris backing up against the wall as far away from them as she could get, feeling fear rising into her head. She was in her birth suit and there was nothing to defend herself with other than her body. But against three men, she knew her chances were very small. She screamed as Martin rushed her and grabbed onto her, causing her head to slam into the wall. He put his palm over her mouth to suffocate her screams as his other hand trailed up her stomach. Kris eyes were wide in fear as she felt his hand on top of her skin. She knew what was about to happen, and she refused to be used that way.

Sending a knee to Martins crotch was all it took for him to let go of her, and he knelt down to one knee on the wet floor, cussing loudly at her action. Jono and Wally quickly rushed her before she had a change to do anything else, and they pressed her up against the wall, holding her still, as Martin recovered. As he did, he was growling as he got close to Kris, his eyes flaming red from anger for what she had done. She was not going to get away from him that easily.

Kris were thrashing against their strong arms as Martin started up again where he had been at, and Kris closed her eyes as tears of fear, anger and hate bubbled up inside or her as she felt hands roughly touching her body, caressing private places.

All hands suddenly disappeared from her, and without the men pressing her against the wall, her legs collapsed under her and she fell to her knees, shaking and crying. She felt arms around her and she quickly tossed herself away, pushing the strong arms away, not wanting to be touched and fear of being raped was taking over. Flailing her arms around her she used her heels to back herself away from whoever was touching her.

"Kris! Kris, sweetie. It's me! It's Jill. I won't hurt you."

Kris looked up at the smoothing voice and saw Jill's worried and upset eyes, and Kris breathed a heavy sigh in relief as she fell towards her sister, collapsing in her arms as Jill wrapping a towel around her and then pulling her arms around Kris as she looked up towards Sabrina, Kelly and the three men.

Martin was pushed up against the wall, Kelly holding her rifle towards his throat, her finger on the trigger. Her arms were steady, the muscles in her body was tensed and her entire demeanor told everyone to stay aside right now, Kelly Garrett was not a woman to be messed with or that you voluntarily pissed off. It could be the last thing you ever did.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Kelly roared as she stared Martin into his eyes, fear and regret already screaming out from his corneas. "I might be a chick, but damn I know where the trigger on this thing is! I would very gladly blow your fricking head off, but this is a warning. If I EVER see you or your friends even look our way I will smear your brain all over the wall with my rifle. And trust me, I will not hesitate. Hell, I will enjoy it! You're nothing but fucking scum, you disgrace our flag and colors."

Kelly was spitting out the words at him, and he didn't even dare to breathe as Kelly as she leaned closer to him, her eyes flaming with anger and absolute hate towards this low life piece of shit in front of her.

"Do I make myself clear enough?" She wheezed through her clenched teeth and Martin nodded. Kelly moved the rifle away from him and sent a right hook to his jaw. He immediately cried out in pain and put his hands towards his jawbone, hurrying out of the room with his tail behind his hind legs as Jono and Wally quickly followed him, leaving the four girls alone in the shower room. Kelly and Sabrina hurried up to the sisters and Kelly knelt next to them as Sabrina observed from a distance, making sure no one entered the room.

Kris was still leaning towards Jill's chest, and Kelly put a hand onto her head as she pulled the wet strings of hair away from Kris' face.

"Are you okay sweetie?"

Kris nodded quietly as she sobbed towards her sister.

"Don't worry. They won't touch you again. We're all here, and we're all in this together. You're not alone kiddo."

"I-I'm fine. I w-was just c-caught off g-guard." Kris stuttered as she leaned closer to her sister, embracing the warmth and comfort.

And she had told herself not to be vulnerable, not in a place like this, not around all these guys that thought women had nothing to do in the army, and they could boss around with them just as they pleased. Kris inhaled deeply as she looked up at Kelly, seeing the fire burning in Kelly's olive colored eyes. Kris knew she had to suck it up. Now. She didn't have any time to lose and she would not be the weak link, the one to slow them down. No way.

Getting out of Jill's embrace she rose to her feet, grabbing the towel she had around her she quickly dried herself off and jumped into her clothes that were lying on an old wooden chair in the corner. Kelly, Jill and Sabrina shared confused looks, Kris demeanor seemed to have changed in a few seconds and they wondered where this was leading. Now she quickly put on her clothes, walked out from the shower room and walked out into the barrack where the guys had gone back to playing card games. Kris walked up to Martin and he looked up at her when she came.

"Couldn't get enough could you?" He grinned towards her, raising his hand towards her hip.

The following second, Tweety birds danced around his head as a result of the hard fist he had just received to his face from a pissed of Munroe. Surprised, he dropped his cards and moved away, but Kris was quick to follow. She grabbed onto the collar of his jacket and shoved him against the wall. Leaning forward, she put her mouth an inch from his ear, her full lips almost touching the tip of his earlobe.

"Ever try anything like that again, on me or my friends, I will personally castrate you." Kris whispered with a voice darker than anyone had ever heard her speak with before.

She let him fall to the floor before she turned on her heel and walked away from the men, walking over to Kelly, Sabrina and Jill, and the four of them headed outside for some air and privacy. As they got outside, Jill pulled an arm around Kris.

"That was awesome honey!"

"I will not let them win. There is no way."

"None of us will. Let's prove once and for all that women can handle the action in the field." Jill said, nodding to the other three, who nodded along with her. Kelly laughed as she sat down in a chair.

"Hell yeah. Let's show the bastards what we're made of."

.

_All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day  
Everything always works out, I have never felt so fucking great  
All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day  
Everything always works out, I have never felt so great  
(Life isn't like this)_


	5. Mission

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Roadside**

**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Mission**

_And tell me how I'm supposed to feel,  
When all these nightmares become real;  
'Cause I don't know_

.

"The M16A2 service rifle is a lightweight air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed shoulder weapon. It fires a 5.56 mm ball projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2,800 feet per second. This is my rifle. Repeat after me."

The sergeant was walking around the group who was sitting around a big round table. They had cleaned their rifles and were now holding onto them as the sergeant called out orders. As he spoke out the rifleman's creed, the entire group of 30 soldiers repeated everything he said, like they had done every day the last two weeks as they had been here. Everyone already knew the creed by heart.

"This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than the enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit. My rifle is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, just peace!"

As they all finished in chorus the sergeant walked over to one of the tables in the room, and sat down on top of it, holding onto the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turned white. He leaned forward and looked over his group, wondering which faces he would see in this place when all of this was over. He knew everyone wouldn't survive. They never did.

"Now. Tomorrow is the big day, tomorrow we're going out to bring these suckers down. Does everyone know their positions?"

"Sir yes sir!" The group chorused loudly.

"Good! I don't want any trouble! This operation is an easy one, we go in, we get Farid, and we get out. There should be no delays if everyone do as ordered. We will be in and out in less than two hours. Then you can go back to grooming yourself." The sergeant grinned before he stretched his back, dismissing them by waving his hand. The entire group left the room and disappeared at different directions as they stepped outside.

"Is it just me, or did the sergeant seem nervous?" Sabrina said, staring straight forward as she walked next to her friends, squinting towards the sun.

"I agree. He seemed very nervous." Kelly nodded, she too holding her head up high as she walked straight ahead.

"I didn't see it." Kris said, her hands in her pocket, kicking away a rock with her foot as she looked down into the sand. "He was even kind today."

"Yeah, that's just why I think he's nervous." Sabrina explained. "The sergeant isn't kind, especially not to us. He can't stand us girls in the army and you know that. Him being a sweetheart, it's just wrong."

"Well, what do you think about the operation tomorrow Bri?" Jill said as she pulled her fingers through her left over hair. All four women had been forced to shave, but they had not done it voluntarily or made it easy for the hair dressers. They had finally made a deal, and cut off the sides of their heads, but left a mohawk on top, which they had braided and stuffed under their helmets and hats when they had been practicing. It had taken four men to hold Jill down while the hair dressed shaved off some long blonde locks, and Jill had been thrashing, screaming and crying in anger as they did. Words no woman should ever say had sprayed out of her mouth, and all of those bad words had been directed towards their mythical boss. He was going to get it afterwards, Jill and the others had sworn on it. They would definitely get even, big time.

"I don't think it should be any problem. We're taking them by surprise and we should be able to get in and out before any problems emerge. Although, you never know with operations like this. You two Munroe's are the religious ones, you better send off a prayer tonight. Hopefully we won't need it but you never know what could go wrong." Sabrina sighed as she sat down by a picnic table where they usually had been sitting the last couple of weeks.

Kelly pulled out a deck of cards from her pocket, and winced as she lifted her arm. Kris noticed it and put her head to its side.

"Is the shoulder still bugging you?"

Kelly twisted her head around and smiled gently to Kris. Kelly had been sarcastic as she can be and it had ended with the sergeant tossing her over his shoulder about a week ago, resulting in her shoulder being dislocated. Sabrina had put it back for her and told her to rest it, but stubborn as Miss Garrett is, there were no rest for her. The sergeants hadn't let her rest either, they had thrown her into obstacle courses, and vigorous as Kelly's mental power is, she had done the courses without showing an ounce of pain in her facial expressions.

But her friends could tell she was in pain, they had learned how to read beyond her tough exterior, at least in most situations, and now Kris rose to her feet, stood up behind Kelly and started massaging the shoulder with her fingers.

"Kris, it's okay." Kelly muttered, but relaxed as Kris worked on the knots and kinks, releasing some tension. It was really not okay, it was sore and throbbing, but she was not gonna give up and cry like a girl. She was a soldier and she would show everyone that she knew how to do this. Her major plan was just one - survive. And not just her. She would not leave this place without her friends.

"Just shut up and let me massage you." Kris smiled as Kelly leaned her head to its side, letting Kris get to the sensitive joints, in the same time as Jill dealt the cards as the pro she is.

Kelly did know though that playing cards with Sabrina and Jill was totally pointless, she had never won before and would never win in her life, that much she knew. The two of them had taught her everything they knew, but obviously not everything – they always had some tricks up their sleeves that Kelly wasn't prepared to. She had stopped playing for money a long, long time ago. She couldn't afford it.

* * *

Kelly paused her storytelling as Jill bent over in pain and let out a gasp. Everyone looked up at her with worried eyes, and both Damien and Kris who was still sitting next to her put their arms around her, comforting her best they could.

"NOW? Should we go now? Is it time yet!" Peggy Lou called out, bouncing up from her seat, literally bouncing as she stood and watched Jill dealing with the contraction. As she jumped up she had accidentally flipped her chair over, whereupon it fell back and hit the decoration table behind her, killing a plant and a beautiful pot. Peggy hadn't even seemed to notice as Kamili grabbed onto Peggy and pulled her back down into her chair, while Aurore went to get a broom.

"Peg, calm down. They are still… 27 minutes apart. We're not going down yet."

Peggy Lou nodded, but didn't tear her eyes away from Jill who was now stretching her back, recovering from the contraction, which were rapidly becoming stronger already. As soon as she leaned back in the couch and her entire body relaxed, Janet, Sandra, Kamili, Peggy, Aurore and Damien immediately turned towards Kelly.

"What then?" Sandra and Janet said at the same time, quickly turning around to face each other.

"You owe me a coke!" Janet called out enthusiastically, in the same time as Sandra called out too.

"Smurf!"

Both of them looked at each other with raised eyebrows, before both of them sighed.

"You Americans have weird traditions." Sandra muttered, shaking her head.

"Seriously? You Scandinavians are the weird people. Smurfs? I mean? Come on." Janet laughed, shoving Sandra's arm slightly.

"I said smurf so you're not allowed to talk until I release you!" Sandra said, shoving Janet back.

"Hey you two be quiet. I wanna hear the rest." Kamili sighed, leaning over she took a coke from the table and gave it to Janet, before her attention was drawn back to Kelly, all of them once again leaning towards her, listening attentively, and Kelly sighed as she began to tell them about the mission.

* * *

"What is he writing on his helmet?" Kris asked Kelly as they were packing their things before heading out.

"His blood type." Kelly said emotionless as she packed down her things, filling up a water can she tucked it down in a pocket.

"You won't need stuff like that." A guy said as he walked by the girls. "We're not gonna be out long. We'll be back before you ladies get thirsty."

"I'm not taking chances. In this heat, I will bring water." Kelly snarled at him, in the same time as Kris took a pen and wrote down her blood type on her helmet as Kelly smiled towards her, looking over the youngest angel, the kid sister of the group, with weary eyes. Kris was nervous, Kelly could easily see that, and she hoped there would not be any trouble and that they could get back here soon. She had talked to Charlie in the phone the other day and he told them he was working on their freedom.

Jill bustled in, all dressed in military clothes, the jacket and the heavy protective gear all on. She had her rifle over her shoulder and the helmet on her head, covering all her hair that had been tightly braided underneath. She was sweating, but she did look very stern, and Kelly wondered how often in a lifetime you would see Jill Munroe all serious.

Not very often.

Jill was usually the one who cracked joke after joke as they were being shot at. It seemed like the more dangerous things got, the more jokes flew out of her mouth. Kelly knew it was a nervous habit and it always lightened up the mood, but now was not a time for jokes. Fix your gear. Get into the trucks. Move in. Get the man. Get out. Celebrate.

Kris, Kelly, Sabrina and Jill were all in the last truck along with two men named Harry and Dean. They hadn't really been having any trouble with the two of them, both of those two were hanging out in the background, they didn't act all macho as the other guys, but still, just like everyone else, they were not on the girls side. They were annoyed as hell to be with the girls and they were probably not going to be all so chummy in the truck.

They were also staying behind. They were acting like cover, they would not get into the field, they would just cover from a distance. Another thing these guys didn't like, they wanted to be in the heart of the action, in combat, to where the bravest of hearts ran to fight for their country and land, to fight for the star spangled banner that they all love so much.

"Let's move!"

The sergeants voice called out over them and everyone got into their respective truck and exactly at 15:00, they moved out from the camp in seven trucks. The tops were on and it was dark, sweaty and steamy inside of them as they drove down the hot sand towards the bigger city where their man was hiding. It was over an hour drive in, even if the case was not supposed to take long, the ride certainly would. They were all bumping here and there inside, being very uncomfortable as the two guys were in the front seats.

Sabrina had her backpack underneath the seat, a backpack filled with medical supplies. She was going in as a field doctor, and she was nervous, even if she refused to show it to her friends. She didn't want to worry them, but she knew things could get very bad.

"This is so uncomfortable." Jill complained as she leaned her head back towards the wall of the truck. "It's too bumpy and too hot. I am going to melt in here. I could be lying on the beach in California right now, watching the waves. Instead I'm in Africa inside a bumpy truck."

"Asia Jill, we're in Asia." Sabrina sighed, closing her eyes.

* * *

"Wait a minute!" Jill interrupted, and Kelly looked up at her with a grin in her face, but in the same time, annoyed at being interrupted.

"What?"

"I did not say Africa!"

"Yes you did." Kelly sighed.

"I did not!"

"Yes you did." Kris said, agreeing with Kelly.

"You did." Kelly smiled, locking eyes with Kris.

"Ya did!"

Everyone turned around towards Peggy Lou who had spoken. How could she know?"

Peggy Lou just smiled and took a big bite from an apple as everyone looked at her confused.

"Okay guys seriously. Stop interrupting. I wanna hear!" Sandra said, flailing her arms, and Kelly went back to her flashback.

* * *

"Same thing. I am going to kill Charlie when we get back. I don't know how, but he is gonna get a surprise. I am gonna get a revenge. He's gonna wish he was dead!"

"What are you gonna do?" Kris smiled tiredly.

"I don't know, but I am sure I can think of something." Jill sighed as the truck bumped high, sending all of them flying a feet up before landing on their butts again.

"Ooh I can not take this! It is too much!" Jill cried out.

"Oh Jill. I am going to shove my boot in your mouth if you're not quiet soon!" Kelly snapped. The heat was getting to all of them and she was angry, nervous and uncomfortable too, but complaining was not making life better, especially not for the people around.

"I'm just asking why we couldn't use the helicopter!"

"Because we couldn't!"

"But it would have been more fun!"

"Fun! Jill! Seriously! Do you think any of this could possibly be _fun!_? You better get a grip out there or you will get yourself or anyone of us killed. This is not _fun_ in any way and it wouldn't be _fun_ even if we were in a helicopter. This is war! People are getting killed out there on the streets! Women and children are being blown up to pieces! This out here is angry people with heavy armory, anything can go wrong so you'd better be on edge. I will not have _you_ hurt us because you don't listen or obey."

Everyone sat quiet as Kelly had snapped at Jill, and Jill looked away, not knowing what to answer. Kelly sighed and looked away too, and they all sat quiet for a while before Sabrina spoke up.

"Kelly is right. This is war, actual war and even if they are saying that it should be an easy mission, your seriously never know. Anything could happen and we all better be alert as we can be. But we also need to stick together, okay. Whatever happens, no one is left behind at any point. We're a fantastic team and this is our chance to prove ourselves, to see what good we can do, how brilliant we are together. But we need to get along. I know everyone is worried and nervous, but let's just swallow those feelings down. Let's not take our emotions out on each other, let's take it out on our enemies." Sabrina said, as always being in the brains in the group. Kelly and Jill looked up at her, and then at each other as they smiled their "I'm sorry" to each other.

"Let's get some rest while we can." Kelly said, and the others agreed as Jill laid down in Sabrina's lap, and Kris scooted over to Kelly and put her head onto her shoulder. Both Munroes were tired and after two weeks here they had learned to fall asleep on cue. It only took a few minutes before they were sound asleep.

Kelly looked slightly towards Kris who was resting towards her shoulder. Her skin was already sunburned, all of them were chocolate brown and red. Their noses burned, lips cracked and dry. The sun had really worked on all of them, even though they were California girls and used to the sun, this was absolutely a different kind of sun. It was nothing like they had experienced before, and the sand was steaming hot as the sun reflected towards it, making it look like there was smoke steaming up from the ground, almost like fog. They had on thick black combat boots, but the ground was still burning under their feet. It was not like the beach of Malibu.

Both Sabrina and Kelly sat quiet for most of the ride, dozing off, and waking up about half hour later, when they were closing in on the town. Sabrina's eyes darted from Jill in her lap to Kris sleeping towards Kelly's shoulder, and the two brunettes shared a look, smiling towards each other.

"They're just alike. Munroes can sleep no matter what the circumstances are." Sabrina laughed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, in the same time as their truck turned right.

They were all going in from different directions to get an advantage in the field, all seven trucks going different ways into the city.

"They are." Kelly smiled as she looked towards Kris again, her eyes gleaming. Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Oh stop that."

"What?"

"Getting those goo-goo eyes over Kris."

"Goo-goo eyes? Sabrina, I hope you've been drinking." Kelly grinned as she looked up at Sabrina, who plastered an innocent look on her face.

"Me? Of course not."

Kelly rolled her eyes as she looked back down towards Kris. "She's cute though."

"Here we go."

"She's cute in an... innocent way. Not like Jill there who is cute in the 'I have some experience' way."

"I think we need to keep an eye on them."

"I have mine. You've got yours there."

"At least Jill has some training, as do you, and I have knowledge about the military. Kris... doesn't have anything."

"She'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm betting my life on it. We're all this together and we will help each other out. Everything will be fine Sabrina. Don't be so worried all the time." Kelly said with a smile on her face as she looked up at her friend, who was still leaning back towards the wall. Kelly knew Sabrina was worried, but the sergeant had said that this was an easy task, and she trusted him.

Sabrina took a deep breathe and was just about to respond when a loud sound was heard, a sound they all had heard other times, but never ever this close. The deafening sound of a bomb blowing up everything around it. Kelly and Sabrina immediately looked up at each other, horror in their eyes as they had heard the sound. That bomb was too close, and it wouldn't be any of their men throwing it. Grenades were not a part of the plan, and they were not in the city yet. Something had went wrong.

They didn't even have time to react before the entire truck was thrown around, flipping several times, rolling around in the sand in high speed, thrown over from an incoming bomb. Everyone in the truck screamed as they were tossed around like ragdolls, fighting to cling on to something, but there was nothing they could do, the truck spun and rolled around too fast for them to be able to brace themselves.

Everything was over in an instant and the dust slowly settled.

.

_So leave me at the roadside,  
And hang me up and out to dry;  
So leave me at the roadside,  
And hang me up and out to dry._


	6. Blood of Angels

**Lyrics: Rise Against - To Them These Streets Belong**

**Here you go... You're prologue!**

**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Blood of Angels**

_So look in my eyes, what will you leave behind once you've gone?  
You got what you came for now I think it's time to move on  
But these ghosts come alive like water and wine  
Walk through these streets singing songs and carrying signs,  
to them these streets belong_

.

For a few seconds the world seemed to have stopped turning as the dust was settling down over the truck and the people in it. Then they all began moving, crawling out from where they was lying, coughing and whimpering as they managed to get themselves out of the vehicle which was lying on its side. Sabrina was first out, crawling out into the sand, where she stayed on her knees as she looked around. There was sand, dust and smoke everywhere and she looked forward to the other two trucks. There was nothing left of them, they were covered in high flames, and Sabrina jerked her head away as the first truck exploded. Sabrina turned the attention back to their truck, noticing there was thick smoke coming out from underneath it. She knew they needed to get out of it, now.

She sighed in relief for a quick second as she watched Jill came out from the truck, crawling out too, and Sabrina gave Jill a hand out, gently pulling her out by getting a grip of her jacket.

"Jill, you okay?" Sabrina asked as Jill managed to get out into the sand.

"Yeah." Jill coughed. "What the hell happened?"

"A bomb. Someone must've thrown a bomb towards the trucks. Stay down Jill."

"Kris? Kelly?" Jill suddenly said, turning around towards the truck.

Just then, Harry and Dean made their way out, and Sabrina and Jill grabbed their jackets and helped pull them out. They seemed shook up, but unhurt. The two of them twirled around, seeing other trucks being tossed onto the roof top or the side too. Sabrina and Jill turned their attention to the back of the truck, where Kelly was coming out. Jill put her hand onto Kelly's back as Kelly crawled her way out.

"Kell, you okay?"

Kelly didn't seem to hear her, her focus was locked inside the truck, where Kris still was. Sabrina and Jill noticed how Kelly was practically dragging something out, and both Sabrina and Jill could feel the horror rise up in their throat. Sabrina and Jill leaned into the truck too, and the three angels managed to drag Kris out of the car.

"Kris?" Jill said loudly, worried about her sister being hurt.

"I'm okay." Kris answered in a small voice as she managed to get out of the car. Kelly, Jill and Sabrina landed on their knees in the sand as Kris landed on her back into Kelly's lap as they got out of the truck.

"Kris, how are you?"

Kris had her eyes closed as she was breathing shallowly in Kelly's lap, Kelly holding onto her, observing her with weary eyes. Jill stretched and put a glove covered hand on top of her sister's cheek.

"Kris?"

Kris inhaled sharply as she opened her eyes.

"I think I've cracked some ribs." Kris said in a small voice, obviously in pain.

"Fight through it sister, I know you can. Focus on something else for a few minutes, okay? You're a tough girl, I know you can fight through the pain, push it back."

"I will give you painkilling but we need to get out of the line of fire first, okay?" Sabrina said, brushing Kris' arm, whereupon Kris nodded, Sabrina's and Jill's words seemed to have given her some new strength. Kelly and Jill helped Kris up onto her feet, Sabrina rising together with them, in the same time as the two guys came back.

"We went over to the other three trucks that went this direction, there's no one alive. We need to get in contact with the other troops." Harry said as they came up to the three women.

Kelly opened her mouth, in the same time as Kris let out a loud cry in agony as she was thrown rapidly forward, out of Jill's and Kelly's arms. Everyone turned around for a second when they heard the sound of gunfire. Without thinking, Kelly grabbed onto Kris' body and pulled her behind the truck, as Jill, Sabrina and the two guys hurried behind the truck too. Harry and Dean leaned into the truck and pulled out firearm after firearm, handing it over to the women. Kelly, Sabrina and Jill all grabbed their guns, all of them worried about Kris who was still lying lifeless in the sand underneath Kelly, blood bubbling out of her body and creating a pool around her that mixed with the light brown sand. Kelly had one foot over each side of Kris, crouching down, watching over her like a hawk as she aimed her rifle and shot down one person at the time.

"We need to get away from here!" Sabrina screamed through the shots, and all of them agreed.

"Let's try to get to the buildings!" Dean screamed back towards them, being slightly freaked out. Or very freaked out. Half their troop, including their sergeant was dead, and they were left alone in the deserted land, that, after all, didn't seem so deserted as they were being shot at.

"What about Kris?" Jill screamed, wanting to look down at her sister, but she knew she couldn't remove her eyes from the people shooting at them, at the people she was shooting at.

"I'll take her!" Kelly screamed. "Let's all go together, you cover me!"

"What!" Everyone asked in union, wondering what Kelly was about to do.

The following second, Kelly leaned down, grabbed Kris and just pulled her up onto her shoulder like if she wasn't heavier than a feather. Kelly then changed firearms with Bri, getting a hand gun and giving Sabrina her rifle. Then they ran. Kelly led the way, running with Kris hanging unconscious over her shoulder, in the same time as Kelly was shooting towards the people firing towards them. The others shot too, following Kelly towards the buildings. The buildings were not that far away, but it felt like an eternity as they ran towards them. Kelly was running on adrenaline, knowing to save her friends she had to get them all out of danger, and the best way was absolutely to get them inside, away from all the bullets that could cause such misery.

Finally reaching the houses, they ran into one of the buildings, and headed up the stairs. Sabrina and Jill ran in first, covering Kelly and Kris as Harry and Dean covered her back. Without even talking to each other, Sabrina and Jill led the way to the top floor, and slammed open a door. Two Afghan men jumped in surprise as they saw the people entering, and before they had time to draw their guns, Sabrina and Jill had put bullets in both of them. The two angels then grabbed the two wounded men, and shoved them out through the window, letting them sail through the air and hit the ground five stories further down.

Everyone stood still for a second, Dean and Harry guarding the door as they all made sure to keep away from the window. Jill knelt on the floor, and Kelly carefully put Kris down into her lap.

.

_My hands are soaking in the blood of angels  
On broken wings, they collapse (will I see the break of day?)  
Dark clouds exploded and torrents of rain fell  
All these lost halos wash away_

.

"Kelly, we'll take care of her, cover the window." Sabrina nodded to Kelly, handing her the M14 back. Kelly nodded, looking worried at Kris for a second before she sat down next to the window, beginning to fire out. People was already hurrying towards their building, and she didn't hesitate as she shot every single one of them down in rapid speed. Within the matter of a few seconds, the street was deserted, with lots and lots of bodies lying bleeding out in the sand.

Kelly turned around and watched Jill, Sabrina and Kris. Kris was lying in Jill's lap, and Kelly could see her eyes were open, but unfocused. At least she was alive. Sabrina and Jill had managed to get Kris' jacket off, and Sabrina had ripped through her t-shirt, seeing the damage done to Kris' back. She was now pressing Kris' jacket towards her back, and Kelly suddenly came to a horrible realization, which Sabrina and Jill already seemed to have reached.

"The medic bag." Kelly whispered.

"Is still in the truck. I need to go and get it, or else she'll bleed to death." Sabrina said, swallowing hard.

Kelly nodded, her brain working full time.

"Then someone go back and get it. I'll cover from the window, I have a clear view over the neighborhood from here. Whoever gets it should get it immediately while it's pretty deserted out there, and while the truck is still there."

"I'll go." Sabrina said, grabbing her gun and hurrying out before anyone else had a saying. Kelly jumped back up into the window, being prepared to fire the M14 if anyone as much as looked towards Sabrina. Kelly swallowed hard when she heard Jill cry, and Kris whimper behind her. Without removing her attention from the neighborhood, Kelly talked to Jill.

"How is she doing?"

Jill held the jacket towards Kris' back hard, but blood was still streaming out. Kris breath was ragged and Jill couldn't hold back her tears as she watched her sister fight for her life in her lap. This was her kid sister. So many thoughts and emotions was rushing through Jill's mind, pictures of Kris as a little girl, playing in the sand, losing her first tooth, riding piggy back on their father, first day in school, her first boyfriend, graduation.

"Jill?" Kelly asked worried.

"She's hanging on. She's been shot by the shoulder blade." Jill said in a small voice, leaning her head down she put her forehead towards Kris', whispering to her sister to stay strong.

Kelly watched through the window how Sabrina had reached the truck, crawling into it she was out of sight for a while. Kelly could hear herself whisper to Sabrina to hurry up, to get out of there. There was heavy, heavy smoke coming from the truck, it would go off any minute, Kelly knew that, she could see it. She exhaled as she saw Sabrina climb out of the truck, holding onto the medical backpack and the radio.

'Smart thinking.' Kelly smiled to herself as she watched how Sabrina hurried back towards the building. Kelly suddenly saw something in the corner of her eye and she felt her muscles tense up as she watched people coming past the smoking truck, towards Bri.

Kelly didn't hesitate. Aiming for one second, she immediately took her shot. Not only one shot, she shot several shots in rapid speed, making people fall like bowling pins in the first lane. But there were many of them and they were running fast towards Sabrina. Kelly felt her brain running too fast, she had to think out of something or else they would kill Sabrina within a few seconds. Kelly suddenly smiled to herself before she changed her aim, aiming towards the tank of the truck, and then she fired round after round until the truck went up in a huge explosion.

People flew back away from the truck due to the force of the explosion, and Kelly watched in horror how Sabrina slammed heavy down into the ground. Holding her breath for a second, she then exhaled loudly as Sabrina crawled a few feet before getting up on shaky feet. Sabrina wobbled a few steps before gaining speed again, running to the house. Kelly saw her disappear inside and she smiled for a second to herself, but refusing to let go off her concentration. There was still a war going on outside and she was their cover.

"She's coming in." Kelly said, and it didn't take long before there was footsteps heard in the stair outside, and even though Kelly had warned them, both Jill and the two men brought up their guns, ready to fire if it was anyone else but Sabrina who walked inside.

At the sight of their friend, Jill put down the gun and went back to holding onto her sister, who was trembling in her lap. Jill met her eyes, and she could see the pain and fear going on behind her sister's eyes. Sabrina tossed the radio to the guys before kneeling next to Kris and Jill.

"How are you doing kiddo?" Sabrina asked as she gently put her hand onto Kris' sun burned cheek. She felt the cold from her cheek immediately, and the realization that Kris was this cold in 110° heat scared her. Kris shouldn't be this cold when it was this hot outside, and she was afraid that the angel's life couldn't be saved. She had lost so much blood already.

Kris forced her eyes lids open, but it was so hard. Pain was radiating through her body and she felt so extremely weak, she was in a state she had never been in before, and she was scared. She didn't want to die. Not like this, absolutely not yet. But she felt so cold, so very very cold, and she could feel her body trembling as she clung to her sister.

"We'll get out of here. Just hang on. I'm gonna look you over, alright?"

Kris heard Sabrina's voice in the distance, it was hard to make out what she was saying and the words stuck together. She really didn't hear the words, just her voice, and just like when her sister had been talking to her earlier, she could easily tell how worried they were. The fear in their voices were nothing they could disguise, and Kris knew that they were scared of losing her.

She was dying. In Jill's lap.

Kris felt how her sister and Sabrina grabbed onto her and rolled her over, and Kris bit her tongue not to cry out in pain. Every little movement sent the pain flaring up again and she felt the tears stream out of the sockets.

Kris nodded slowly as Jill and Sabrina carefully rolled Kris over to the side, her face towards Jill's stomach, to let Sabrina have a look at Kris' shoulder. Jill was pressing Kris' military jacket towards the gun shot wound by the shoulder blade, and Sabrina gently moved it to see the damage underneath. She swallowed hard. There was just so much blood. The blood was absolutely everywhere, and Sabrina felt how she was doubting her ability to save her dear friend. She swallowed hard again, there was no one else here who could do it, she was the only one who would be able to help Kris, and she had to do it, right now. She looked up at Jill, who was on edge of breaking.

"You have to help her Bri." Jill whispered, holding onto her kid sister, her voice trembling and hoarse as she spoke. "You can do it right?"

Kris closed her eyes as she heard Jill's voice. Her sister was so scared and Kris regretted following them here. They would not be in this situation if she had just stayed down, stayed safe behind the truck. She had no army training and see what it had gotten her into. She was cursing within herself, how could she had been so insanely stupid? Just throw herself out into the battle without even considering the consequences? So selfish and insane of her, she hadn't even thought it through, at all. And now she was here, bleeding out in Jill's lap and there was no turning back. All hope she had was now in Sabrina's hands and she could hear Sabrina swallow hard.

"The bullet is probably lodged in her shoulder blade and I'm gonna have to get it out."

"Do it Bri. I know you can do it."

Kris swallowed hard too, she had a feeling this was going to hurt more than the hit, and she could just feel the tension in the room as Sabrina braced herself. Jill leaned down her head towards Kris', her nose almost touching Kris' cheek, but not reaching there due to their helmets clonking together.

"Hang on sister. You will be fine, just stay strong okay? We're here all the time and everything will be fine. Don't you dare go anyway, okay? I will keep you safe and Sabrina will help you out. You know she can do it, both of us knows that.

Kris could feel Sabrina's hands on her back, in the same time as the building rocked underneath them. Kris first thought it was an earthquake, but the ear piercing sound of an explosion was unmistakable as the world jarred under them.

Before they even had time to scream, the floor disappeared underneath them, and with a loud gasp, they all felt how they went sailing through the air, going downwards together with the building as it collapsed both underneath and above them. There were no time for screaming, all six of them just held their breaths as they fell towards a certain death.

.

_Head hung from shame we bear a weight that brings me to a crawl  
These years of longing tell of decades of unanswered calls  
For a change, cause everyday we slip and fall  
Kicked while were down, our fists clenched into a ball_


	7. Saved

**Lyrics: Rise Against - But Tonight We Dance**

**Guys! Thaaaaank you so much for all the reviews! They are making my fingers speed up so much and you all know I'm writing this for you guys! Keep reviewing! :D**

**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Saved**

_In the glow of twilight, our world is finally calm._  
_ I felt it complete me, when the stars give way to dawn._  
_ A language universal, but I speak not its tongue._  
_ Is this a night that spans forever, or a dawn that never comes._

"Certain death? But… y'all didn't really die… Right!"

Everyone looked up at Peggy Lou as she was sitting with her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide in shock. Kelly smiled towards the teenager, her insides bubbling, one part of her brain told her to tell Peggy a firm "no" with a smile, but there was no way she could hold back the sarcastic answer. A stupid question has to be followed with a sarcastic answer. That was the law.

At least in Kelly's book.

"Yes, we did Pegs. We're all ghosts now, I thought you knew this?" Kelly said gently, managing to keep her stern face.

Peggy Lou looked from Kelly to Kris, and then Jill, all of them nodding seriously, agreeing with Kelly, who was grinning widely to the others while Peggy wasn't looking at her. As Peggy whipped her head around, Kelly immediately changed the grin into a serious nod again.

"Naw, yall yanking mah chains! Yall not dead! Or…"

Peggy Lou looked confused back towards the two sisters, and Kris leaned forward towards Peggy, still with a serious look on her face. As she got closer, her face shined up into a Munroe smile.

"Boo!"

Peggy Lou jumped slightly in her chair as everyone broke out into a loud laughter as Peggy Lou crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, looking over to her sister for support, but not receiving any as Aurore was laughing just as hard as everyone else. Aurore looked over at her sister who was still pouting, and while laughing, she reached over and grabbed onto the back of her sister's neck, pulling her towards her. Peggy smiled as she leaned towards her sister's shoulder, Aurore pulling her arm around her.

"You sweet little stupid blonde, how can someone not love you?" She grinned, as Peggy laughed and jumped up into straight position again.

"Okay, I get it. Yall couldn't have died cause yall here, but how did yall get out!"

"Let me tell you." Kelly smiled as she continued.

* * *

Kelly slowly fluttered her eyes open, but quickly closed them again as the world seemed to rock underneath her. She felt like she was on a boat, swaying back and forth in an uncomfortable pace, and the nausea immediately made her aware of itself. She felt seasick. Her body was burning, as she came to life she realized everything hurt, especially the shoulder. She was hanging tossed over something, her upper body hanging down towards the ground, her arms hanging down over her head. The arms were swaying as she rocked, and she guessed it had popped out of place again. Every time she swayed slightly she felt like screaming, the pain was insane and she felt like her back was on fire, but she didn't have the energy to even open her mouth. Her mouth. She was thirsty, she felt like she had been eating sand and her mouth was insanely dry. She felt like sitting up and asking someone for a drink, but she had no energy to move. She forced her eyes slightly open again, and tried to look around. Her vision was blurry and her head hurt, and it took a while before she managed to focus her sight.

She blinked a couple of times again. The sight confused her. All she saw was sand, lots and lots of white sand that were moving under her. Looking towards herself, she saw four hairy legs move in a weird pace and she realized she must be hanging over some animal. A horse? But the hooves were so weird. Since when do horses have two toes? She closed her eyes slightly and smiled to herself. Sabrina would've grinned and told her all horses have two toes. So in that case, this horse had three, cause his hooves looked so weird, so wide and in difference from a horse's rock hard hooves, this one had soft ones. Her brain was too tired and beat up to make such a crucial decision right her and now. Instead she decided to go with the flow and just relax.

It didn't take long before she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"Kelly? Come on, wake up."

That voice… It… Yeah. Sabrina. Kelly pulled her hand up towards her face, trying to shove Sabrina who was using smelling salts under her nose in the same time as she forced her eyes open. Sabrina had a steady hand under her back as she helped Kelly to sit up.

"Easy Kelly. How are you feeling?"

"I… I dunno…" Kelly said, her head being fuzzy and she felt groggy. Seasick almost. The sight of the four legs moving made her frown. Had that just been a dream?

Something blowing on her made Kelly move her head and she jumped in surprise as a camel was sniffing on her. Okay – it hadn't been a dream. Where the hell did that camel come from? Where was she? What had happened? Jill? Kris? Oh, Kris. She had been shot. She was bleeding to death and then the building had exploded as someone had thrown a bomb into it.

"Shoo! Shoo!" Kelly croaked, her voice being extremely hoarse, shoving the camel away, whereupon the big animal turned around and left to find something more exciting to do, for example go and lie down in the shade.

"Here, drink Kelly." Sabrina said gently, handing Kelly a cup that had been standing next to them. Kelly gratefully took it and swallowed a huge mouthful. Sabrina could see how a huge grimace spread over Kelly's face and she couldn't help but to grin. That was her Kelly.

"What is this?" Kelly asked as she was about to hand the cup back to Sabrina, but she was so thirsty, and even though it had been so very, very bitter, she had to drink some more.

"It's kakade. It's a tea made from the hibiscus flower's petals."

"Where did you get this?"

Sabrina pointed over to their side, and for the first time, Kelly looked around at where they where. They were in the shade from a big tree, and there were several tents surrounding them, about 20 people, both men, women and children were at different places among the tents. Everyone was dressed in either white clothes or lots of colors, wearing shawls and turbans to protect them from the sun. Kelly saw some women wearing burqa, and those girls anxiously looked away and pretended that a rock was very interesting as Kelly looked towards them. Kelly saw that most of the elderly women were making necklaces and other jewelry with their fingers and the men were sitting talking or doing random chores. Although Kelly were confused and wanted to know who these people were, they were not her main concern. Her eyes darted around so fast she thought she was going to get sick, until they finally got stuck on one of the tents where she saw a form dressed in military pants, and a beautiful purple blanket over her upper body as she rested on her stomach. She had no helmet on, and the blonde hair was still neatly braided.

"Kris." Kelly whispered as her eyes focused on the pale angel. Wanting to go there, she put her hands onto the ground and tried to rise to her feet. She let out a gasp in pain and fell back into sitting position.

"Be careful Kelly. Your helmet was cracked in two so I'm sure you've got a concussion, and your shoulder was dislocated again, but I popped it back as you were out cold. You were obviously lying underneath a huge piece of concrete when they found us, it's a miracle your back isn't broken, but you should try to be careful, even though I know that is hard on you. You can thank the camels later for saving your butt by moving the rock away." Sabrina smirked.

"Sabrina! What about-"

"Kris and Jill are both okay. Oh well, as good as it can get. I don't know if you remember the fall, but I do. The building was hit by the same wall as the window, so the entire building tilted forward as it fell, sending you, Kris, Jill and myself out of the window, since we were so close to it. That saved our lives, if we had been a few feet further in we would've been shattered by the concrete."

"Dean and Harry…"

"Were further in, yes." Sabrina nodded. They hadn't really known the men, but they had been okay and she had not liked finding out that they were dead.

"So how is-"

"I woke up at the scene already." Sabrina said, helping Kelly to get up on her feet to help her over to Kris. "When I did I saw this gang coming towards us, and they helped us out, helped me to get the piece of mountain off you and helped me with Kris and Jill. They have been so very fantastic. One of them is a doctor and he and I managed to get the bullet out from Kris' back and I stitched her up best I could. I've given her morphine, but some of my bottles broke in the fall, so I don't have much left. I've given you some too."

"Will Kris be okay?"

"I hope so. She seems stable at least, let's just let her rest."

"And Jill?"

Sabrina smiled as she turned around and pointed. Kelly turned her head, ignoring the pain in her back as she held up her hand over her eyes to block the blinding sunlight away from her eyes.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise as she saw Jill on top of a camel, racing together with several younger boys on their own camels.

* * *

"Jill. Stop adding stuff!"

Jill looked up at her sister with a big smile as she had been interrupted in her story telling. The fact that she had interrupted Kelly didn't seem to bother her though.

"I'm just making it more interesting Kris!"

"But we're telling them what actually happened, not making lots of fun stuff up. You are so annoying sometimes!"

"Guys." Kelly said, looking at them like a teacher looks at a misbehaving child in class. Instead of lecturing the two blondes up, she kept on telling them the story.

* * *

As Kelly turned her head and squinted her eyes towards the sun, she saw a tent to their right where Jill was lying on her side, popped up into a pillow. Kelly could see her boots were off and her left ankle was bandaged and popped up into a pillow. Next to her was a man dressed in white and a white shawl on his head, his arm up on a pillow too as he was feeding Jill grapes.

"Is she okay?" Kelly asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Sprained her ankle, I don't think it's broken, it should be just a bad sprain. Otherwise she's like the rest of us, shaken and grazed, but alive. Miraculously alive."

"Who's the guy?"

"I don't know, one of the Bedouins who has obviously fallen in love with her."

"Does he speak English?"

"Nope. They haven't said a word to each other but it looks like they are both pleased with the situation anyway."

Kelly rolled her eyes as she once again looked around among the tents and people, then she turned and looked at Sabrina.

"Does anyone here speak English?"

"Nope."

"How have you been able to communicate with them?"

"They speak Persian and my father taught me Persian when we lived in Saudi Arabia for a while. My language is a little bit shaky, but they have been able to understand me obviously."

Kelly was nodding, she wasn't very surprised that Sabrina knew their language. Sabrina loved learning new stuff, especially random facts such as how many wing strokes a butterfly does in a lifetime, or the different presidents of Tadzhikstan. Kelly was still nodding as she turned to look towards Kris again, not liking the color of her face or the fact that she was so still. Trying again, she rose to her feet and Sabrina helped her up, and supported her over to Kris where both of them sunk down next to her. Kelly gently put her hand at Kris' shoulder, rubbing it slightly, causing Kris to slowly open her eyes.

"Hey sweetie." Kelly smiled gently, in the same time as Sabrina carefully lifted the shawl covering Kris' back to look at the now stitched wound.

She hadn't told the other but there had been no antiseptic left after the crash to the ground, and she had cleaned the wound with not all too clean water. In this heat, she was very worried that the wound would get infected, but she had decided to keep that to herself and observe Kris instead. Looking at it now, she noticed the skin was slightly swollen and red. Swallowing hard, she knew there was not much she could do at the moment.

"I'll check on Jill." Sabrina smiled, leaving Kelly and Kris alone as Kris fought to focus her eyes on Kelly.

"Hey Kell." Kris whispered hoarsely. "You… okay?"

"I'm fine kiddo." Kelly smiled as she leaned down and moved her hand up to Kris' head. "You're the hurt one. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Kris whispered, letting her eyelids fall down again, she had no energy to even keep them up.

"Yeah, right." Kelly said, raising an eyebrow.

Kris opened her eyes and smiled slightly.

"Well as long as I don't move. Or breathe."

Kelly smiled as she grabbed onto a pillow and laid down on her side next to Kris, reaching over she took Kris' hand in hers.

"You scared me girl."

"Sorry about that. In the future, I will stay down when we're being shot at." Kris smirked, whereupon Kelly squeezed her hand.

"You'd better." Kelly smiled, stroking Kris' hand with her thumb. "Once is enough. You mean too much for me to see you hurting."

Kris squeezed Kelly's hand, no words were necessary as these two looked at each other. Kris was about to say something when Kelly cut her off.

"Get some rest Kris. You might need it."

Kris sighed and closed her eyes, beginning to drift off to sleep-land. The last thought that crossed her mind was for how long she would be able to sleep before she needed the energy again? What more things would they get into?

A bad feeling were nagging her belly, telling her that things had just begun and things would soon get very very bad. Cause being shot and blown up while being in a building, well, that was all in a day's work... right?


	8. In love and war

**Lyrics: **  
**Rise Against - Heaven Knows** (beginning and end)  
**Lionel Richie - Love will conquer all**

* * *

**Chapter 7 – In Love and War  
**

_The day I learn to fly, I'm never coming down_  
_ On perfect wings I'll rise through the layers of the clouds_

Sabrina was sitting up, leaning back towards a tree as she observed her three friends. They had been here at the oasis for 30 hours, and the sun was settling over them. The camp had calmed down several hours ago and most of the people had went to sleep. Sabrina was worried though, and she couldn't get herself to sleep so she had decided to stay up to make sure here friends were okay.

It was mostly Kris that worried her. She had seemed okay earlier, in a lot of pain though, but even so, she had been able to sit up and get something to eat and drink, and she had been awake and alert most parts of the day, but as the sun has set, Kris had started complaining about being cold, and as Kelly had put the back of her hand towards her forehead, she had realized Kris was burning up. Sabrina had inserted an IV into Kris' hand and hung the bag in the tree, and she watched now how the bag slowly was getting empty. She had one more, and she hoped that would be enough to keep Kris hydrated. She had given her some antibiotics too, but just like the morphine, most if it had crashed in the fall. All they could do was comfort her and pray that Kris' body would fight it off.

Sabrina looked over to her side when she heard Kelly mumble in her sleep, which was nothing out of the ordinary. Looking over towards her, she couldn't help but to giggle as she watched Kelly's camel, the one Kelly had been hung over as they brought her here, was resting next to her. The female camel was for some reason very fond of Kelly and hadn't left her side in all day. The love wasn't really mutual, Kelly wasn't too fond of the the big animal that reached up to a stunning 6'11'', and with its weight of 1500 pounds, Kelly was scared that the friendly camel would step on her when she least expected it.

The Bedouins had told them the camels name was Bano, meaning lady or princess in Persian, and the devoted camel had proudly showed off her baby earlier that day, she had practically shoved the baby boy camel towards Kelly, insisting on Kelly petting it. When Kelly had put his hand on his neck, Bano had straightened her neck and let out a long, loud sound of satisfaction before taking her head down towards Kelly's upper body and given her an affectionate shove, where upon Kelly had toppled backwards. Bano wasn't really aware of how powerful she was.

Now Sabrina giggled delighted as she watched the trio – mommy, mommy, baby boy – sleeping next to each other. The cold was creeping in over them and Kelly rolled over, closer to the camel and snuggled down into Bano's thick fur by her neck. Bano, who obviously was awake still, seemed pleased as she reached her tongue out and licked the side of Kelly's face.

"Hih, Kris, stop it." Kelly mumbled in her sleep, her hand going up towards the tongue to shove it away before the hand fell back into the sand.

Bano put her head to her side for a second before she reached forwards and licked Kelly in the ear with a delighted expression on her face.

"Hehehe, Kris, stop it." Kelly giggled in her sleep. "Stop, hih, it's too early… hihih, no, hehe, stop it, hehe."

Sabrina clapped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud as Kelly's eyes fluttered open. The first sight she saw was Bano's tongue, and it only took a second before Kelly backed away in fast pace, her arms flailing as she spazzed. Seeing a camel's tongue first thing when you wake up is nothing Kelly was used too. Without noticing her, Kelly backed right into Sabrina, and Sabrina let out a laugh as she did, startling Kelly even more who tossed herself around, then put her hand towards her forehead as a headrush went through her. She groaned loudly and closed her eyes as Sabrina gently grabbed onto her to keep her steady.

"Bri?" Kelly whispered as the dizziness past, and Sabrina smiled gently towards her as she rubbed Kelly's good shoulder.

"You feel okay?"

"Yeah just dizzy. And violated." Kelly groaned as she looked over her shoulder towards the big furry animal.

"Kris huh?" Sabrina grinned, her brown eyes sparkling in the light of the big moon floating above them, making everyone bath in the soft blue light. Kelly looked up at her, and the thought that everyone does look better in moonlight hit her. During the day, as they all had been up and alert their injuries had been very clear, grazes, cuts and abrasions were covering every part of their bodies. The sunburned skin was desquamating and blisters were covering their faces, even though the always wore protection in the sun. It didn't help, the sun was too strong, but now, in the cool breeze from the night and the soft glow from the moon, Sabrina looked just like she used to in Kelly's eyes, and a great knife of homesickness cut through her bones. She wanted home. Now.

But that was not her main concern at the precise moment. There was something other far much worrying.

"How long did you listen for?" Kelly groaned as she wiped her ear off with the back of her hand, sending angry glances back at the camel that had put her head down onto the ground, looking towards Kelly with longing eyes, almost saying _'Why did you leave all of a sudden? We were having such a great time…'_

"All while dream-Kris licked your ear. What you two were going to do after that inside your head... I don't wanna know."

"Ugh, if I have to cut out your tongue to keep you from saying anything I will -"

Sabrina was just about to answer with a witty reply as they both were interrupted by Kris' voice, who was groaning and whimpering. Kelly's facial expression immediately changed into a frown, worry spread over her face as she crawled over to Kris, trying to ignore the burning pain in her back and shoulder. She sat down next to Kris, leaning down she stroke Kris cheek, noticing that even though the night was cold, Kris was still burning. Kris had rolled up and was now up on her side, still wearing her army pants and the blanket, and Kelly carefully pulled Kris up into her lap, stroking her head gently as Kris' eyelids fluttered open.

"Ke-Kell…" Kris whispered, not really being able to talk. Kelly leaned down and placed a kiss on her head.

"Sscch, don't talk sweetie. Just relax. We're here, and you'll be fine."

Comforted by Kelly's words, Kris closed her eyes again and drifted away. She was in way too much pain and just too exhausted to be able to fight off Ole Lukøie with his two umbrellas and the shot filled with sweet milk. Kris smiled slightly as she thought of the Danish book written by H.C. Andersen that her grandmother used to read for her when she was little and couldn't sleep, a book about the first version of the more well-known Sandman.

Sabrina and Kelly sat quiet for a long time, none of them knowing what to say really as Kelly held Kris in her arms. Kelly felt herself getting moist and sweaty as she held onto Kris who's skin was radiating more heat than a stove. Kelly looked up at Sabrina, trying to read her expression and her eyes, wanting to know what was going on inside her head. Sabrina looked up at Kelly, with a face hard as a rock. She wasn't giving any emotions out at all but on the inside she was bubbling with worry. Would Kris seriously survive the truck tumbling, being shot and getting blown up, but die from an infection? They couldn't let that happen.

Sabrina let out a big yawn, covering it with her hand as she did. Kelly looked up at her, and she knew instantly that Sabrina hadn't slept at all yet. Poking Sabrina slightly, she have her a small smile.

"Go to sleep. I wake you up if I need you."

"Kell, I really think…"

"It's okay. We're gonna need our energy, let's watch her in shifts. Go to sleep."

Sabrina nodded as she smiled, and then turned around to their blankets they had gotten. She cuddled down and pulled the blanket over her, and she was more exhausted than she thought obviously, cause Ole Lukøie immediately knocked her over with his umbrella too.

Kelly gently rocked Kris in her arms, humming quietly to her without waking her or other people up, but still feeling the need to comfort her youngest and right now most vulnerable member of the pack. Kelly sighed, these three women were her pride, her lion flock, and she would do whatever she had to to keep them safe and alive. She didn't know how they came to where she was taking the leading role, but here they were, and all four of them already knew that no matter what happened, Kelly was in charge.

The young blonde whimpered in her sleep, and Kelly looked down at her, seeing the sweat roll off her forehead and the pained expression in Kris face she immediately felt her heart tug. Kris was in such bad condition. She instinctively pulled Kris closer as she closed her eyes, letting her cheek fall towards the top of Kris' head as she quietly kept humming.

_Here we stand  
Trying not to fall  
There's no need to worry  
Love will conquer all_

_Ooh and why  
Why is the world so unkind,  
We surely can find peace of mind  
If we only see the light, can't we that _

_Can somebody tell me why  
Why do our dreams go wrong  
Why can't we all belong  
Ooh, where do we start  
Oh and tell me when  
When will we ever learn  
There's nowhere else we can turn  
The truth is in our hearts, here we are together  
Sometimes the road gets hard to travel  
Sometimes the pains too much to bear  
Sometimes when life seems to unravel  
That's the time oh - to say  
We're gonna make it anyway  
Can't we see that_

_Here we are  
Out here me and you  
Reaching out each other  
Is all that we can do_

_Here we stand  
Trying not to fall  
There's no need to worry  
Love will conquer all_

.

Kelly kept humming for the following hours, not being able to get any type of sleep as her heart was beating for Kris. Kris was getting worse by the hour, she was quivering and trembling in Kelly's lap, her fever was high and her breathing labored. She had woken up every half hour and Kelly had helped her drink some water every time as the bag hanging from the tree was almost empty. Kelly nudged Sabrina with her foot, and it only took a second before the taller brunette was sitting next to Kelly and Kris, switching the bag to another full one.

Kelly could easily see the worry in Sabrina's eyes as she looked Kris over. Her eyes were open, but glossy and unfocused. Both Kelly and Sabrina could tell Kris had a hard time keeping her eyes open as she kept blinking, but Kris couldn't speak any more. Her lips were moving but no other sound that moans, groans and whimpers were coming out, and Kelly felt herself swallow over and over again, absolutely hating to see Kris so very sick.

"How is she doing?"

Kelly and Sabrina turned their heads around as they heard Jill's voice. She was coming up behind them, crawling on her knees until she reached their side, her eyes stuck on Kris' face that was turning into a deadly shade of white.

"Not very good." Sabrina whispered as she helped Kelly to roll Kris' semiconscious body onto her side, moving the blanket away to take a look at Kris' back. The area was badly discolored and swollen and Kris immediately reacted as Sabrina carefully dabbed around it with some water and cotton. Sabrina threw the cotton away and pulled the blanket over Kris again, sighing loudly. There was not much they could do, and the three girls sat in silence around the fourth angel who was whimpering and wheezing.

The sound of gunfire made them all jumped in shock, it was nothing they had been prepared for, but they all recognized the sound immediately as someone fired into the tents. People were waking up, people were screaming, rushing to their feet, out of the tents, trying to run away from the bullets that were piercing their bodies. The women was fleeing, grabbing their children they began to run away, away from the guns and fires. Where they were running they probably didn't know, neither did they care. Just away.

The men were grabbing weapons. Some men answered fire with fire, pulling out rifles, while some men grabbed slings. They filled the top with stones and then swirled it over their heads before letting the slings fly through the air, knocking the enemy down with perfect accuracy.

Kelly, Sabrina and Jill looked at each other, trying to decide what to do with just a few seconds to make a decision. Knowing they had no time, but they had to protect Kris too. She couldn't even talk, she could not defend herself in battle, and Kelly wondered if she could save Kris in the same time as she fought these people off. It was not just one person, there were an entire group of about 30 soldiers coming their way, and it was obvious what they wanted.

Kelly suddenly got an idea and she grabbed onto Kris' upper body, leaning down she put her lips an inch from Kris' ear.

"Trust me honey. I'll get us out of here alive. I promise."

Kelly lifted Kris up, and Sabrina and Jill helped her carry the semiconscious angel. Kelly led the way and they hurried over to Bano who was still lying down, but she had straightened her neck, looking over towards the soldiers with rifles coming their way. Kelly yelled for Sabrina and Jill to help her get Kris up on Bano's back, and they did hung her in between the two humps, making sure she was stuck to the camel before making sure the blanket covered all of Kris. Kelly walked up to Bano's head and petted the big animal.

"Take care of her. Keep her safe."

Kelly shook her head. She was talking to a camel.

She had obviously lost her mind.

But Bano quickly rose to her four big feet, her baby boy doing the same, and the two animals quickly turned around and ran away fast into the deserted land, out of sight of the riflemen. Sabrina, Jill and Kelly never looked as Bano ran away, they hoped they were doing the right thing. Instead of watching Bano run away with Kris, they tossed themselves around in the tents and grabbed onto their rifles, helping the Bedouins fight off the intruders.

The Afghans had reached the tents, and Kelly looked around in horror as the tents were set on fire while the owners of the tents were lying bleeding out next to them.

"KELLY BEHIND YOU!"

Kelly heard Jill's voice and she twirled around, holding her rifle with both hands at the different ends of it she managed to block of the sword that came down towards her head. The man swirled the silver blade around, aiming for her stomach, but Kelly grabbed onto the pipe of her rifle, slamming the sword away from her. Twirling her rifle around, the sword fell out of the man's hands. Not waisting a second, Kelly twirled the rifle and slammed it hard towards the side of the man's face, sending him sprawling unconscious to the ground.

Running past the doctor that had helped them with Kris, she saw him on his back with a major wound in his chest, and Kelly's gut tightened as she knew she couldn't save him. He grabbed onto her ankle and she knelt down next to him, worried that someone would stab her in her back as she did.

The man spoke to her, his voice raspy and blood running out of his mouth as he was choking to death. Kelly tried to understand him, but he was speaking Persian, and she couldn't understand at all what he was saying. Instead he sighed and lifted his hand up, and Kelly saw the beautiful khanjar he was holding up. He grabbed her hand with his other and put the khanjar into her hand, nodding to her, before his eyes rolled back and his body went limp. Kelly felt like she could almost see the soul escaping his body. She looked at the khanjar, the traditional weapon shaped as a curved knife in an ornately decorated scabbard made out of wood and covered with leather and silver, silver made in wire form and then sewn into the leather.

A sound behind her made her twirl around fast, and she managed to block of the downcoming sword by pulling out the beautiful and thick khanjar out of the scabbard, then twisting it around and forcing it out of the man's hands. It fell to the ground and Kelly quickly grabbed onto it, twirling that around she forced it into the man's stomach. The man froze, his hands going towards the blade as his eyes stared at Kelly in shock. Kelly could only see his eyes, his big dark brown eyes with long black eyelashes, the rest of his face was covered by a white shawl. He fell down onto his knees while Kelly rose to her feet, pulling the sword out of his stomach, in the same time as he fell down onto his side, falling over onto his back. The shawl covering his face fell down towards the sand that was spreading dust over his body as he hit.

Kelly stared at her attacker, feeling emotions well up inside. Looking at his face, she had a feeling his was not even allowed to get a driver's license yet. He couldn't be more than 14 or maybe 15 years old, he was still a little kid, and she had just killed him. She hadn't known. She… she hadn't known. She knelt next to him as she felt tears well up in her sockets, life was not fair. She had killed him, but he was not supposed to be here. He was not supposed to be fighting, he was not supposed to be a soldier. He was still a kid. Kelly leaned down over him, reaching over with her hand she gently closed his blank and glossy eyes, before grabbing the shawl and covering his face.

A scream behind her made her twirl around once more and she quickly jumped to her feet. She brushed her tears away with her arm before grabbing the knife in one hand, the sword in the other, realizing they would be to better use in a close up battle than a rifle would. The scream continued and she ran towards it, knowing very well who it belonged to. Noticing most of the people already fleeing as most of the Bedouins were bleeding out into the sand, the soldiers were now steeling their weapons and camels, jumping up onto the big animals and rushing them to run fast away from the scene. Kelly dropped both the knife and the sword to the ground as she watched one of her best friends have her arms tied behind her back and her ankles tied together. She was bleeding and screaming as she was thrown up onto one of the camels, a man jumping up behind her and screaming for the camel to run too.

Kelly ran. She had to stop them, they were kidnapping her friend, taking her hostage. Kelly didn't know what they would do with her friend but she knew she had to stop them. She ran, through the sand, she pumped her body to run faster than she ever had before, saving one of her best friends was one of the only things she had in mind, it was the only thing she could do. She heard another female voice behind her, her name was being shouted for. She could feel the tears of anger and hate burn in her as she watched the camels disappear out of sight, but she never stopped. She had to get them. She had to.

Her friend tackled her from behind and they both fell to the ground, rolling a few laps before coming to a stop.

"Kelly, she is gone. We can't run after them, we'll get her back some other way. We will."

"HOW?"

"I don't know, but we can't run after them. The camels are too fast for us. Let's get back to the tents."

Kelly brushed more tears away with her sunburned arm, her jacket was still in one of the tents and she was just wearing a white tank top, which now was covered in blood spatter. She sighed as she looked down at it, and she angrily kicked away a rock that was in the way of her path.

"DAMN! DAMN THIS!"

_I close my eyes as the curtains draw,_  
_ I thought I heard your voice but I thought wrong,_  
_ 'cause you're not there anymore,_  
_ No you're not there anymore_

_ And so I lift my chin and the show goes on,_  
_ The sky is listening, the stars all sing along,_  
_ But you're not there anymore,_  
_ And I just can't care anymore_


	9. Captured

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Collapse (Post America)**

**

* * *

Chapter 8 – Captured**

_When our rivers run dry and our crops cease to grow  
When our summers grow longer and winters won't snow  
From the banks of the ocean and the ice in the hills  
To the fight in the desert where progress stands still  
When we've lost our will_

.

Everyone sat quiet as Kelly took a break in the storytelling, they could tell the last chapter had been tough for her to reminisce and she was now looking down to her hands. They all looked at her and Kamili noticed that Kelly was shaking. Reaching over she took Kelly's hand in hers and smiled gently to her as Kelly looked up at Kamili, meeting the black woman's dark eyes.

"I wish I never killed him." Kelly whispered, and Kamili squeezed her hand as Aurore slipped her arm around Kelly's waist. They were all there supporting her and she was very happy that they were. She had been wondering how they all would react to her telling them about the teen who's life she had abruptly stopped, and Kamili answered that for her.

"Kelly. I don't know what it feels to have to kill a young boy, but you did the right thing. That boy had been pulled into a harsh and violent life, a part of the world that children are never supposed to see, but unfortunately they do without us being able to stop them. But that's why we fight. I was in the army too, none of us was there because we wanted to but as you get there, we do what we have to do. He's at a better place Kelly. I'm sure he is."

Kelly smiled gently towards Kamili, thankful for her support, in the same time as they heard Jill gasp in pain, grabbing onto Damien's leg with her hand. Everyone around the table could easily tell that the contractions were getting stronger. Peggy was looking back and forth between her friends, waiting for anyone of them to tell her that it was time to go down to the hospital, but obviously it was not time yet, everyone sat quiet and observed Jill who was panting as she leaned towards Damien.

As she exhaled, Damien gently brushed tears away with his thumb as he leaned towards her, gently placing a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

"You're doing great sweetie." He whispered, gently rubbing her back. "You're doing so great."

"It hurts so bad." Jill whispered in a small voice, straightening her back slightly, wincing as she did. Kris put her hand on her sister's back and gently motioned for Jill to move forward, and Jill jumped out until she was sitting at the edge. Kris slid in behind Jill and moved her hands inside of the nightgown, gently massaging Jill's sore back.

"Thanks Kris." Jill whispered as she leaned back and let her head fall down onto Kris' shoulder, and Kris put her cheek towards Jill's.

"So, who was taken by the Afghans? Bri or Jill?" Sandra asked, curious at how this story would continue. "And how did you get her back? What happened to you Kris? You have to keep telling us Kelly!"

"I was the one kidnapped." Jill said, as she held her eyes closed, relaxing as her sister cared for her back. "They tied my arms and ankles as Kelly told you, and then tossed me up on that scary animal."

* * *

"Let me go!" Jill screamed in anger as the camel was running in high speed, her swaying and bumping. Jill was certain that she was going to fall off any second, and her sore bruised and bumped body ached absolutely everywhere as she bounced onto the animals back. But the Afghans were holding onto her tightly, making sure their trophé didn't go anywhere.

Jill kept screaming, thrashing and turning as she tried to get away from them, she wanted them to let her go, she wanted to go back to her friends. She had no idea what they were going to do to her, but she was quite certain that she was not going to like it very much. She didn't want to go with them, and she decided to do everything in her power to make them let her go.

The man on the camel screamed something at her and Jill's eyes grew wide in horror as she saw the long wooden stick that they used for whips towards the camels, and seconds later her head was thrown to the side as the stick hit her straight across her temple, cheek and neck. She felt everything get very fuzzy for a second as she lost focus due to the stroke, and it didn't take long before she drifted off to unconscious, not being able to keep her eyes open.

_That's how we'll know  
This is not a test, oh no  
This is cardiac arrest  
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes  
We're crashing into the ground as we all fall from grace_

* * *

"What do we do?"

"I don't know Kelly but we will get them back."

Kelly was sitting down, leaning towards a tree with her eyes closed. She was wearing her military pants and the white tank top, and Sabrina who was walking towards her was wearing the same. Sabrina's white top was covered in blood spatter too, just like Kelly had had fought off the Afghans, but failed at keeping their blonde friend safe. And their other blonde friend was hanging on a camel somewhere. Everything had gotten quiet over five hours ago and Bano had yet to return.

The Bedouins had moved on after burying their murdered family members, mostly men but one of two women and children had been in the way of the rifles and silver blades that had rushed through the little group of tents. Everyone had been buried quickly, everyone had helped to make one big grave where everyone had been placed. Kelly had been surprised that the funeral rites were so simple and after they had packed all their things together, they had left the grave unmarked.

After burying their family, the Bedouins had moved on, but Kelly and Sabrina hadn't been able to leave their place even though it was about three hours since they were left alone. They had a bottle of water each, their clothes and their weapons, and that was about it. They had picked up left over ammunition from the dead people, and Kelly had hung the khanjar around her waist. Sabrina had talked to the Bedouins and expressed their sorrow of what had happened, and now she sat down next to Kelly, leaning against the thick tree.

"What did they say?"

"I said we are very sorry about their great loss, and the woman I spoke to said that it was not our fault, we should not feel sorry. It was the will of Allah and she told me that as all Bedouins, they accept their fate with faith, courage and patience."

Kelly nodded slowly, amazed by these people. If her family had been butchered like that, she would have wanted revenge. She knew there would be no other option. But these people accepted it, buried their husbands and took their things and moved on. Kelly shook her head as she buried it into her hands, hands that were grazed and cut just as the rest of her and Sabrina's body. Sabrina sighed as she wrapped her arm around Kelly's waist, pulling her towards her.

"We'll get them Kelly."

"How Sabrina!"

"I don't know how Kelly, but we will get them. Someway."

Kelly seethed as she jumped to her feet, her hands on her waistband as she began pacing, kicking up dry sand as she walked back and forth. She was so angry with herself, that she hadn't been able to protect them and that everything had turned out as it did. She was angry with Charlie for screwing up their papers and she was angry with the Afghans for burting in and kidnapping Jill. She was angry with the US military for sending them out and not preparing for being bombed and she was angry with the sun being too strong. She wanted out of here, she wanted out of here now, but she had a feeling they had a long way to go. First they had to get the Munroe's back.

_When the air that we breathe becomes air that we choke  
When the marsh fever spreads from the swamps to our homes  
When your home on the range has been torn down and paved  
And the buffalo roam to a slaughterhouse grave  
What more will it take_

* * *

Jill slowly opened her eyes. Her head was fuzzy and a killer headache immediately made her groan in pain. Opening her eyes, she felt nausea coming to her and bile rising up in the back of her throat. She swallowed hard as she tried to focus. Where was she?

Her eyes slowly focused as she looked around. She was not on the camel anymore, she was sitting in a chair with her arms tied behind the back of it, her feet tied to the legs of the chair. The room she was in was dark without any lamps, but the sun was shining in through the windows, making the beige walls and ground almost look golden. Jill guessed it was late morning sun glowing in through the busted windows, and if that was the case it meant she had been unconscious for about 6 hours.

Except a small wooden table, she and her chair was the only objects in the room, she realized that as she looked around as much as her sore head and neck allowed her to. Moving around made her very dizzy and she had a strong feeling she definitely had a concussion. She sighed and cursed, which was supposed to be a loud curse to get some attention, but her throat was so dry. She felt like had had been feed sand for weeks, and she would absolutely love something to drink.

_With perfect aim, we stand back and throw  
Glass windows break and it's all about to blow  
Lights go out as we pass the torch again  
In hope that is stays lit  
_

.

The door bust open and she whipped her head up, immediately blinking several times as the sun shined right to her face. A man walked inside, dressed in military clothes, a black vest over his upper body and a baseball cap onto his head, his black curly hair sticking out underneath it. Jill looked up at him, her eyes taking a few seconds before they focused, and the first thought that crossed her mind was that he really needed to pluck his… eyebrow.

He took a few steps inside, just looking at her, and Jill put her head to her side as she observed him, wondering what he was going to do to her, and why they had kidnapped her. Did they want to trade her for anything? Information? She didn't know anything about this, she was definitely the wrong girl to capture if they wanted information. She didn't even know the name of their sergeant that had been killed.

"My throat is so dry, you don't happen to have some Dom Pérignon? I would love some -53." Jill's voice cracked as she gave the man a smile.

He was not amused at all, his face was stern as a mountain as he walked up closer to her, walking around her chair he put his hand by his neck, letting it trail up towards the thick braid of left over hair, before his fingers trailed towards her cheek and lips. Jill felt like biting him, but she didn't want to get murdered just yet.

The man began speaking and Jill looked up at him, feeling her stomach roll. She had no idea what he was saying, she couldn't even tell what language he was talking in. He didn't seem to bother though, instead he kept talking as Jill fought her hardest to understand. Her head was screaming though, she felt like a hammer was slamming towards her skull and she was dizzy and so very, very tired. Exhaustion suddenly washed over her as a wave, but she fought her hardest to keep awake and focused as the man spoke.

He suddenly seemed to have asked a question and was now expecting an answer as he turned around towards Jill, grabbing her chin roughly with one hand and forced her to look up at him. Jill felt fear rise up inside and her eyes grew wide as she stared into his black eyes and stared at his face which were covered in dust, dirt and scars. She could tell this man had been doing a lot in his life, he had been beaten up more than once. The scars in his face spoke a very clear language, in difference from him. Jill was scared. She had no idea what to say.

"In English?" She whispered, begging with her eyes, not knowing what else to say or to do. The man began to shout, still holding onto her chin he screamed at her, his face just a couple of inches from hers and she could feel spit from his mouth spraying over her face. He let her chin go, backhanding her hard across the face. Jill gasped in pain as her head was whipped aside, a headrush making her feel very nauseas. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the angry man walking towards the door with firm steps, slamming it closed after him.

.

_Neutrality means that you don't really care  
Cause the struggle goes on even when you're not there  
Blind and unaware_


	10. The plan

**Guys, I am soooorry for being so horribly slow at updating, but I've gotten a common disease called "Writer's block" ;D I am also trying to tackle this insane heat the world has been put through, we Swedes are not used to this - at least not me. But now I think I know where I'm heading with this story and I've made a plaaan! Haha. Okay. Here you go, next chapter! I will be fast with the next one, I promise! **

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Like The Angel  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9 - The plan  
**

_They turn the lights down low,_  
_ In shadows hiding from the world,_  
_ Only coming out when it gets cold_

_ The seas part when they hit the floor,_  
_ The voices carry on and out the door_  
_ And everything you touch turns into gold_

.

"Bano! Bano!" Kelly yelled as she was walking through the deserted area. She and Sabrina was walking towards the direction Bano had run off to, and they were both calling for the camel. They had been doing this for over an hour and Kelly was angry as hell. They were both dressed fully in military clothes with their jackets, protective gear and rifles, just in case something unexpected would happen.

Now Kelly had stopped dead in her tracks, grabbing her helmet with one hand she threw it down into the sand, curse words Sabrina had never heard before was flying out of Kelly's mouth.

"Kelly!" Sabrina yelled, trying to get Kelly's attention, but Kelly was busy kicking sand and throwing things around her. Sabrina sighed, Kelly was absolutely impossible when she was like this and she had to get her attention before she hurt herself. Rushing her friend she grabbed onto Kelly's shoulders and turned her around, pointing towards a rock surrounded by trees. Kelly squinted her eyes, looking towards where Sabrina pointed, and then she ran. She ran towards the little oasis, Sabrina running behind her. They were both sweating as they got there, the heavy protection gear and warm clothes were not the best thing to run in when the sun was burning above you.

Getting there, Kelly immediately grabbed a hold of Kris and with Sabrina's help they carefully pulled Kris off from Bano who was lying down in the shade, her baby boy sleeping next to her. Kelly sat down, leaning her back towards Bano's stomach as she cradled Kris in her lap, searching for a pulse. As she put her fingers towards Kris' neck, she exhaled loudly in relief as she found one, and it was strong and steady. Sabrina pulled out the now empty IV bag as Kelly gently shook Kris, trying to wake her up, but Kris remained unconscious. Kelly looked up at Sabrina with pleading eyes, wanting her friend to be able to do something, but she knew just as well as Sabrina that it was up to Kris to heal herself.

"What are we gonna do now Bri?" Kelly asked as she rocked Kris carefully in her arms, wishing for her friend to wake up and tell her that everything would be alright.

"We have to get Jill back and there might not be much time. But, I'm not sure if we can move Kris. It's not like we can carry her and I don't want her to be hanging over Bano like she has, it might rupture her stitches. What if we…"

Sabrina stopped in the sentence as she looked around, looking back towards where the camp had been. Things had been left there, things the Bedouins didn't need as they had lost major part of their gang. Sabrina looked deep in thought for a second before she smiled, and turned to Kelly.

"Stay with her. I will be right back."

"What are you-"

Kelly didn't finish her sentence before Sabrina hurried off back to the camp, and soon disappeared in the dusty fog from the land. Kelly sighed and hoped Sabrina would be okay as she shifted Kris in her lap, looking down at her she noticed Kris' eyes were slightly open. Kelly immediately put her hand towards Kris' cheek that was still all hot and moist.

"Kris? Sweetie? Can you hear me?"

"Ke…" Kris whispered, not having enough energy to talk.

"Hey, I'm here. You'll be okay but you gotta fight, okay? I need you to fight for me Kris. We need you."

"Kell… I… I don't… feel good." Kris whispered, her voice rocky and Kelly could say that she was having a lot of trouble speaking.

"I know you don't sweetie, your wound has gotten infected, and there's no more antibiotics. We need you to fight this off Kris, we need you to do it yourself. I know you can do it, and even though we need you to fight this infection off by yourself, we're here all the time, it doesn't mean you're alone. We're by your side all the time, okay?"

Kris nodded slowly and gave Kelly a small smile, just barely visible.

"Where's… Jill?"

Kelly took a deep breath as she looked down at the vulnerable and small blonde in her lap, wondering how to break it to her that her sister had been kidnapped. Stress and worry was not what Kris needed right now, but she did have to tell her and Kelly knew that it was best to just come right out with it.

"We got attack by Afghans Kris. They took Jill, but we're gonna get her back, I promise you that. We will get her back."

Kris looked at Kelly with her blue eyes, trying to completely understand what Kelly just told her. Her sister had been kidnapped by Afghans? She could feel worry grow inside of her, but right now, she was way too sick to be able to let the emotions take control. She closed her eyes as she thought of her sister, but knew she had to let it up to Kelly and Sabrina to sort this out. She was too tired. She couldn't even move her body, every single part of her body was hurting so bad, every muscle was complaining and she was so afraid of moving. She was sweating but in the same time she felt so very, very cold and she cuddled as close to Kelly as she could get.

Kelly looked up at Sabrina as she returned, dragging lots of things with her, and put them all next to Kris and Kelly, panting hard from exhaustion. Kelly furred her eyebrows together, wondering what Sabrina was up to, as Sabrina looked up at her and smiled.

"I'm making a bed. Then we can tie it behind Bano and she can pull her with us."

"Smart thinking Sabrina! Can I help you?"

"Let me do this, you get her to the pond there and try to wash off the wound with something, we need to keep it as clean as possible."

"Help me carry her?"

Sabrina nodded as she two of them grabbed onto Kris and moved her down the small pond, before Sabrina moved up towards the camels again and began making the makeshift bed that they would use to move Kris with. In the meantime, Kelly shifted Kris in her lap, and moved away the blanket, exposing Kris' pale and sweaty skin. Kris had floated back to unconsciousness and Kelly swallowed as she grabbed an edge of the blanket, reaching down to the pond she dipped the blanket, then put it towards Kris' back, gently cleaning the discolored area of the stitched wound.

Kelly gently washed Kris' upper body before wrapping her into the blanket again, still having her in her lap she looked down at the woman she loved who was so very sick in her arms. Kelly felt anger rise up, she didn't want to lose Kris, cause she knew she would not be able to handle it, she was afraid she would go insane without Kris' smile, her laughter, her optimism and enthusiasm. She was a constant ball of cheerfulness and she was definitely needed at the office. And office without Kris would not be worth going to, and Kelly wondered how her life could've changed so drastically as she met this woman. She didn't really have an answer to how she felt about her or why Kris made her heart flutter every time their eyes met, but Kelly knew that this girl was something special and they needed each other.

Kelly sat with Kris for about half an hour before Sabrina came down to the two of them smiling towards Kelly as she put her hand on Kris' leg.

"How is she doing?"

"Still the same I think. At least she's clean." Kelly smiled and Sabrina smiled back, before grabbed into Kris' legs.

"Come on, let's get her up there."

Kelly nodded and the two of them moved Kris up to the camels, and Kelly smiled at the makeshift bed that was made next to them. It was made out of fabric from left over tents and wood, tied together with thick ropes. There were blankets spread out over the bed and they gently put Kris down on top of them, before wrapping her into some of the blankets. Sabrina then grabbed onto the roped and fastened them into Bano's saddle and around her theelbow so that it would be easier for Bano to pull. Sabrina and Kelly then began walking, walking the direction where they had seen the men run off towards with Jill. They really had no idea of where to go, where Jill was or if she was even alive, but they knew they had to try, they could not leave her here and let her die. That was just not an option.

_And each and everyday will lead into tomorrow_  
_ tomorrow brings one less day without you_  
_ But don't wait up just leave the light on_  
_ 'Cause all the roads that I might take _  
_ will all one day lead back to you_

* * *

"Did ya find her?" Peggy asked with big eyes as she interrupted Kelly once again.

"No, they forgot about me and I was eaten by cannibals Peggy." Jill sighed as she rolled her eyes towards the blonde who realized what she had just said, and blushed with a cute giggle.

"I'm sorry! This story is just so intriguing, I can't hold myself. I wanna know about everything that happened and I want to hear it fast!"

"I will tell you Peggy, but it will go much faster if you don't interrupt me." Kelly smiled gently, patting the teen's shoulder, and Peggy turned around towards her with a big gleaming smile in her face.

* * *

"Do you know for how long we've been walking?" Kelly asked as she removed her helmet, brushing the sweat away from her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Two hours approximately."

"How do you know?" Kelly asked, knowing that none of them was wearing a watch.

"You can tell on the sun." Sabrina sighed, her too wiping sweat away from her forehead and neck. The sun was high and it was making them melt into their heavy gear, but no one of them wanted to remove any clothes. They had on protection gear, and they had no idea where people were hiding, and they did not want to risk anyone of them taking another bullet. Having two our of four down was major enough. Kelly and Sabrina knew everything depended on them now, Kris and Jill's – and their own – lives were dependent on Sabrina and Kelly to get them all four out of there, or else they wouldn't even stand a chance. With two of them being still being able to fight the chance was still very, very small – but it was something there.

Kelly looked up at Sabrina, and she knew the older angel was thinking the same thing. Sabrina looked over at Kelly and met her eyes, her worried dark green eyes were sparkling in the ray of the sunlight.

"Do you think we can make it?" Kelly asked worriedly, pulling slightly on the reins to make sure Bano followed them. The camel and her son was walking alongside Sabrina and Kelly all the time, being constant companions.

"Kelly. Do you remember which was the only god to remain in Pandora's box?" Sabrina smiled, nudging her arm with her elbow.

Kelly looked up at Sabrina, not at all in the mood for riddles, but she knew Sabrina was filled of them, and she played along with a sigh.

"Hope?"

"Yes. Elpis. Eplis – Hope, is the only god remaining among mankind, the others left and gone to Olympos. We can always trust Hope to be there when everything else is lost. Have faith Kelly. There is still hope, there is always hope as long as someone is willing to fight for it. You know that, and I know that you are willing to fight for Jill, and for us. You know we have to do it. The chance is not big, I know that, it's gonna but us against 50 men or so, probably heavily armed and mad as bulls, but I am sure we can do it. We are awesome Kelly, and as long as we have faith in ourselves and hold onto our hope, I'm sure we can get Jill out."

"It sounds like you have a plan?" Kelly said, realizing the glint in Sabrina's eyes, the sparkle that arrived when she had a masterplan in mind that would get them out of the most difficult of times.

Sabrina chuckled as she looked towards Kelly giving her a gleaming smile.

"I have a plan."

.

_And like the angel you are you laugh creating_  
_ A lightness in my chest,_  
_ Your eyes they penetrate me,_  
_ (never cease to amaze me)_  
_ That's when I got up and left_


	11. Wandering

**Lyrics: Rise Against - The Dirt Whispered**

**As I've said before, thank you for the support and reviews I'm getting! Since people have written and told me that they're enjoying the story since themselves been to the army, I feel the need to add that ... well I haven't. Sweden has never been to any war and I most definitely know nothing about the military other than the billion movies, series and documentaries I've watched, research I've done and books I've read, and my favorites - the newspapers from WW2 that my grandma kept in a suitcase. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, I know nothing about this from experience and if things really doesn't add up, please feel free to poke me!  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 10 – Wandering**

_She got down on hands and knees, _  
_ One ear against the ground,_  
_ Holding her breath to hear something, _  
_ But the dirt made not a sound tonight_

.

"Is that seriously going to work?" Kelly asked, her voice filled with dread and distrust as she watched Sabrina with one eyebrow up.

"I have no idea, but we've gotta try, right? Do you have a better idea?"

"Not at the moment. Let's start with finding out where she is. Then let's talk about how to proceed to get her out."

Both Kelly and Sabrina nodded to each other as they kept walking, Kelly holding onto Bano's reins as she pulled Kris on the bed behind her. They had walked for over an hour, both of the wandering angels were tired and exhausted and couldn't do more than pray that they were at least walking in the right direction. They hadn't seen a single person on all the way, and they were fearing that they were walking right off to nothing. They had headed towards the direction where the attackers had run off with Jill, but even though Sabrina nor Kelly had loudly raised their thoughts, they had both been thinking the same thing. What if those guys had just turned one direction and then changed to confuse them? Kelly had gulped at the thought of wandering aimlessly for hours until finding Jill already dead.

They both knew the fact that she could be dead by now was totally possible, there had been several hours since Jill was kidnapped, and those people didn't seem at least interested in feeding her grapes and wining her with 1787 Chateau Lafite.

A sound from behind made both of them twirl around, looking towards Kris who was moving around on the makeshift bed that Sabrina had made. Both Kelly and Sabrina moved back towards the bed and Kelly carefully sat down next to Kris who was on her back, stuffed up on various soft things to try and keep her comfortable. Kelly grabbed onto the wet piece of cloth that was covering Kris' forehead, noticing it was drying up. Grabbing her water can she carefully poured some water into the cloth before placing it back onto Kris' forehead. Kris smiled weakly towards her and Kelly grabbed onto her hand, squeezing it gently.

"How are you feeling sweetie?"

Kris blinked a few times before giving Kelly a small smile.

"Slightly better actually."

Kelly smiled widely as she brushed Kris' arm up and down with her free hand, feeling relief pour out of her.

"That makes me happy. You just keep resting and we're gonna go and get Jill back."

Kris looked around for a second and realized she was lying on something, and she looked up at Kelly with confused eyes.

"What is this?"

"Sabrina built a makeshift bed, you're tied to Bano the camel and she's pulling you. We need to find Jill, but Bri and I have a plan on how to get her back. We're gonna make it, you just rest, okay?"

Kris nodded slightly as she closed her eyes again, exhaustion washing over her once again as she drifted off to sleep. Kelly smiled as she looked at her, but the worry still remained inside, Kris was still not good, still not healthy enough for Kelly's worry to go away completely.

* * *

Kelly looked over her shoulder as she heard Sabrina qualm behind her, and she turned around and observed her tall friend who was leaning with one hand against a tree, the other hand on her knee as she bent over and retched violently. Kelly winced as she watched her, the sun was so strong, the light was burning through their clothes, and Kelly could literally feel the sweat roll off from every part of her body in tiny drops. Kelly walked over to Sabrina and put her hand onto her back, rubbing her upper back slightly to let Sabrina know that she was there, to comfort her. Sabrina straightened her back and happily accepted the bottle of water from Kelly, drinking just a few sips from they. She sealed the bottle after her, making sure none of the life saving water was wasted.

They were running out of the clear and wonderful liquid.

Kelly put her hand onto Sabrina's shoulder as Sabrina leaned towards the tree for support, her entire body was complaining in agony as she removed her helmet for a bit to wipe the streaming sweat away from her eyes. The drips were annoyingly stubborn and kept dropping down onto her eyelids, getting stuck on her eyelashes. She felt like she was melting, this sun was nowhere near merciful.

"How are you doing?" Kelly asked as she rubbed Sabrina's shoulder, watching over her pale friend who looked like she was on the erge of breaking.

"Headache, tired, nausea, dizzy, so thirsty, everything hurts." Sabrina whispered as she took a few deep breaths before looking up towards Kelly who looked at her with compassionate eyes.

"Dehydration?" Kelly asked, whereupon Sabrina nodded without doubt.

"Definitely. We need more water Kelly, it's too hot, we've walked too far. All of us need more water."

"I know, and you can see just as well as me that there is a city up ahead. A city means shade and it means water. We will find out where Jill is and set our plan in motion, then we will seek shelter and rest. I know we can do it, and so do you. Come on now. It's not that far to go, and we made it so far, right?"

"Kelly, how can you hold up so well?" Sabrina asked as she grabbed onto her shoulder and walked up to Bano along with her, the gang began walking towards the city they spotted in the distance.

"I don't know, but I keep telling myself that we have to get Jill to be able to leave this place. When we get her, we can rest. We can go home. I'm not sure how we will get home, but we will. All of us will come out of this alive, I promise you all that, no matter what it takes. Let's just push ourselves a little longer. We're almost there."

"What if Jill's not there?"

"Then we'll get some food and water and keep walking." Kelly said determined as she pushed her sore feet and legs to take one more step. One more step. One more step.

One more step.

They had walked the entire day. Kelly couldn't for sure tell for how long they had been walking, but it was turning into night again so she knew it was more than 12 hours already. They had taken a few stops at different oasis and deserted villages without meeting a single person along the way, but at least been able to cool off and drink something. How clean the water was, they had no idea, but when you're so thirsty you seriously think you're going to fall on your knees and die – you'd drink pretty much anything. Clear water from a small pond seems like heaving. And they had been drinking, they had been drinking a lot at the different stops, and filled all their bottles with water, but by now they were almost out of it again, they had some left but gave as much as they could to Kris since she was in the worst condition and they figured she needed it more. Having an infection and high fever already, Sabrina and Kelly were afraid that dehydration could be lethal for the weak angel on the bed.

As the day had passed on, Kris had been more and more awake, and both Sabrina and Kelly, who had been keeping their eyes on her all the time, could tell that she was already improving. She was only awake a few minutes at the time, but the heat radiating from her body was cooling down and the constant shivering had stopped. Now she was sleeping peacefully on the bed, knowing that with Kelly and Sabrina watching over her, she was as safe as a girl can be. She knew neither one of them, especially not Kelly, would ever let anything happen to her, she was going to stand over her on the bed and fight if she had to. Kelly was not physically the strongest one in the group, but her mental power was mightier than a god. Even if she didn't have an ounce of strength left in her body, she could in some magically way force her sore and tired muscles to work harder, just for a little longer.

_Echoes of songs still lurk on distant foreign shores, _  
_ Where we danced just to please the gods that only ask for more, _  
_ So it goes_

.

Kris was half asleep as she laid on her stomach on the bed, having turned around due to the wound in her back was too painful to rest on. She had heard Sabrina and Kelly talk but the last hour both of them had been quiet and all that could be heard was the wind, the movement of the camels moving, the strong and beautiful animal that could walk for what seemed like forever without water. Both Bano and her child had been drinking at the last pond, but Kris knew that a camel can drink about 26 gallons of water at one stop and then go on that for 6 months as long as it doesn't have to work hard. Kris smiled to herself, amazing. A human can last two days and they call us the developed species?

Yeah right.

Kris closed her eyes hard as she heard one of her friends retch violently again. She didn't know which one of the two it was that was sick this time, but she knew both of them needed water. They had been riding Bano on and off, switched places, but with all the gear and wandering in the sun all day, they were both dehydrated and ready to drop at any second. She was so mad at herself for getting hurt, she was supposed to be here to help out, to help Kelly and Jill out as they were sent off. And first day on the mission she manages to hurt ribs _and_ get shot. Kris felt like rolling the eyes towards herself, she was a complete failure. They had to work extra hard to take care of her. Not only were they one man short, but they had to take care of her all the time too which made them all more vulnerable.

Kris wanted nothing more than to stand up and walk next to them, to heal and to fight along their side. She was going to help to end this war, she was not going to let Kelly and Sabrina – nor her sister – die because she managed to get hurt immediately.

The problem, however, was that every time she even thought of moving, her entire body screamed loudly in pain. The ribcage she had hurt when the truck twirled around was swollen, dark blue and purple and hurt like insane, and every time she breathed, not only did she feel pain by her ribs, her back was absolutely killing her. The pain had gone down from the bullet wound the last day, but it was still excruciating and told her very firmly to keep as still as possible. She didn't have Kelly's strength, which she wished she could some day possess. The power, the strength, the backbone to be able to keep fighting even though you've lost your will to do it. Even though you're hurting to much you can't even feel your own body anymore, even though you've lost more blood than you thought you had inside of you, with both legs broken – Kris was sure that as long as you have the mental force inside of you, you can do wonders and miracles.

The will just has to be strong enough. Kris knew Kelly fought for them, Kelly fought for her family, her friends, her coworkers, her soul mates, the people she loves with all her heart, people she can't live without. Kris knew Kelly would probably never forgive herself if they returned home one person fewer than they had arrived here with. Kelly had taken command without them asking or complaining about it, it had seen like the only natural thing for it all. Everyone around knew that Kelly had the strongest bullhead in the group and if anyone could get them through this, it was definitely her.

They depended on her – and Kelly knew it.

* * *

"We're here."

Kris opened her eyes as she heard Kelly speak, her voice filled with dread, and determination at the same time. Interesting combination Kris thought, and she had a bad feeling in her gut, telling her that the combination could easily put the entire situation out of hand.

Kelly was suddenly sitting next to Kris on the bed, stroking her hair, watching over the sick one.

"Sweetie? We're just outside this town, and, we're gonna have to leave you here. There's a creek here and I've filled up this bottle of water, I am going to leave it with you, okay? I've told Bano to stay here with you, she's already lying down."

Kris nodded towards Kelly. She didn't want to be left alone here but she knew she couldn't follow them inside the town. She would be in the way and she would definitely ruin their plans. Looking around she saw that she was among a lot of bushes, hidden in the shade of the vegetation. As long as she kept still and didn't make a sound no one would find her. As long as they didn't need to steal a camel though.

"Kris. If we're not back by dawn, I want you and Bano to get the hell out of here, to try to get back to the base and get your butt on the first plane home. If we're not back by dawn, don't go in and look for us. I don't want you killed."

"What about you?" Kris asked, carefully moving her hand up, placing it on Kelly's sunburned cheek, gently letting her fingers feel the profile of Kelly's absolutely perfectly shaped face. Kris smiled as she looked at Kelly, thinking for herself that there are no other face in the world that is just so perfect as Kelly's.

_On cold nights_  
_ In a prayer for dawn_  
_ But the daylight_  
_ Isn't what she wants_

_ The concrete_  
_ Calls my name again_  
_ I'm falling_  
_ Through the cracks I slip_

.

"Don't worry about me. Whatever happens. I want you to leave if we're not back by dawn. Promise me that. You have so much ahead of you and I want to see you get married and have kids. I want you to keep living Kris because you have so much more to give than to die here. Promise me to go on?"

Kris swallowed hard as she shook her head, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"How can you even ask this of me? How can I possibly go on without you? And Jill? And Sabrina? I can't leave you guys here."

Kelly leaned down and kissed Kris' forehead, her eyes watering too. She knew they had to leave and they had to part now, otherwise Kris would convince her to either stay or to bring Kris with her. Which ever choice of those two she made, someone would get killed. If this plan was going to work, Sabrina and Kelly had to go in alone.

Kelly squeezed Kris' hand before she rose to her feet, waving for Sabrina to follow her and the two of them walked off towards the town, preparing for their major plan to be set in motion. They only had once try at it and they knew they had to do it perfectly to succeed.

They didn't have many other choices.

* * *

"You left Kris there?" Janet asked with her mouth hanging open as Kelly took a deep breath, pausing from the storytelling once more.

"They did." Kris pouted. "I don't think I've ever felt so very abandoned as I did then, but as you all understand, it was the only right thing to do. I was sick like a dog, and I had to stay or I would just be in the way. But I was so scared, and the night was creeping in so fast. I don't… I don't think I've ever felt so small, so pitiful and so vulnerable in my entire life. I prayed that everything would work as they were planned."

"Did they?" Kamili asked, so curious at how they got Jill out of this, all of them alive. It didn't sound like an easy task at all.

"Kelly, this is your story to tell." Kris smiled gently towards Kelly who was biting her lower lip while twirling her hair with one of her hands.

"Okay, I will tell you, but I have to use the ladies room first. I'll be right back and tell you everything." Kelly smiled as she excused herself and left the room.

Everyone sat quiet for a few seconds just looking at each other before Kamili swallowed hard, looking up at Kris.

"This is taking hard on Kelly, huh?"

Kris nodded slowly as she looked to her sister, then back at Kamili.

"It is. I think it's the first time she's told anyone anything about this, and believe me, the worst of the tale hasn't even begun."

_A destination, a fading smile._  
_ Another station, another mile._  
_ Another day gone, I swore that I will._  
_ Be there before dawn._  
_ So be there, I will._


	12. Obstructed View

**I have kinda broken another computer (3rd in a year! I deserve a award!) and I'm gonna drop this off at the Computer-Hospital tomorrow. Dunno when I can get it back, so I dunno when I'll be able to post again. But here you have a little something for the time being :) Hope you enjoy!**

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Obstructed View  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 11 - Obstructed View  
**

_To all you people standing proud _  
_ Thinking you know what I'm about_  
_ I think you can fuck yourself_  
_ From your safe distance in this crowd_  
_ That's when your voice becomes so loud_  
_ Still trying to keep us down_

.

The music was loud, the motion in the bar was fast and blurry, the evening air hot and humid. Well trained bodies of ten women were swinging their pelvises and vibrating their hips around the tables where slightly over 50 men were singing, drinking, dancing and gambling, enjoying life as dusk was settling, embracing the nightfall. The hips of the young women were moving along with the beat of the music and the rhythm that the women were creating with their hips and the finger cymbals, the men clapping their hands in the rhythm while hollering to the women in several different languages. The oriental dance the women was performing was sexy, it was hot and it was steamy, the women dressed in the bediah – a fitted top, harem pants and a big belt being decorated with beads, sequins, braids and embroidery, adding to the movement and to the music as the women worked their sultry hips in provocative movements. Sweat was trailing down along the womens lower backs, but no men paid attention to that, they were all worked up, and the women dancing in front of them knew what they were doing and where they wanted to get their men.

They knew how to move their bodies to make the men drool, some of these women only knew the three basic steps – the shimmy, the hip punches and undulation – but that was all they needed to get the mens attention. Well, really, they were all sexy and sultry enough to just stand there and bat their eyelashes and the men would be turned on anyway. These belly dancers were the only women left in town, almost every other female or child had either fled the city or been killed. Several of them were still lying outside the buildings, rotting away in the burning sun. The smell of fried human meat from the streets was something most people in this room was used to by now. They had all seen too much, they had all experienced too much. The only reason these women were still here, was that they had lost everything and everyone they had and now needed money to be able to get supplies to flee the city. The easiest way to make money was to please the men. They paid well for a night with a girl when there were no other women left to please their manly needs. The girls were just happy that at least most of them actually did pay. There are not only gentlemen in here, and most of the dancer had been sexually abused more than once.

It came with the job.

One the the women was not as much into the men as the other women, instead she kept a wakeful eye on one special man by the end of one of the tables. He had a big beard and mustache, but he was a lot skinnier than the other men around him, and in difference from the other men, he was also more observant. He was looking around in the crowd, searching for something, for someone. The others didn't notice this man's weird behavior, they were too busy drinking, singing and dancing, and of course, the half naked women rolling their hips and shaking their chests in front of them were also stealing major part of their concentration. The one belly dancer smiled to herself as she watched the man spot something, send her a look before leaving the room, following the other man that had just left through the door, out from the pub.

Sabrina rubbed her fake beard as she followed the man outside. She knew how to spot a man in charge a mile away and this man was definitely in charge. Sabrina had seen him and instantly she knew that if there was any time to find out where Jill was, it had to be now. She pulled off the beard and mustache, but let the shawl covering her head and the brown robe she had on was allowed to stay on. She tossed it all away and then called for the man with a determined voice, calling for him in Persian.

He immediately stopped and twirled around, looking towards her with raised eyebrows. He didn't even have to utter his curiosity or surprise before she told him that they needed a conversation alone, in private. His surprised face changed into a smile and he gestured for her to follow him into another building, and Sabrina nodded and let him walk first. She did not want a knife in her back, she would be on her guard. She would not let thing go wrong cause she wasn't sure if they would survive then.

Before they walked inside, they had made a plan. A pact. They had been told one very important thing, and that was "if you ever get captured and you know there are no way out – end it yourself." Committing suicide is better than being tortured for the upcoming 30 years. If they all got caught, they would end it immediately, and as Sabrina thought of that, she felt in her pocket for the small jar she kept there. Her fingers found it and played around with it a little, knowing that it contained very lethal poison that could kill a full grown man within the blink of an eye. A suicide pact, something Sabrina prayed with all her mind and soul that this wouldn't lead to, but she knew anything could go wrong. She didn't want to end up in someone's claws, they were gonna get Jill and leave. But she knew they couldn't planned everything and as she closed her eyes for a short second, she saw her father's face in front of her.

_"In war, there is no room for mistakes, and you can't afford to underestimate your enemies. If you loose your concentration for one minute and turn their back towards them, they will stab you in the back within the blink of an eye."_

Sabrina inhaled and shook her head slightly. She was going to go home to California and she had plans to come home and beat her father in chess. She had goals in life and she was not going to die before she had finished them. She wanted to have a family of her own, finding the love of her life, and maybe even one day she would carry around a toddler on her hip. She knew she had so much left in life to do, she was not finished here yet and she was not going to fail. Not here, not now.

The man showed her into a room where he showed his guards outside, told them to enjoy themselves as he sat down into a rickety wooden chair that looked like its best days had passed several years ago. Sabrina couldn't understand how it was still holding this big man up, but it seemed to hold. The man grabbed a package of smokes and lit it as Sabrina sat down in another unstable wooden chair by the other side of the table creating a distance between them.

The man puffed out some smoke as he poured some clean vodka into two glasses, offering one of them to Sabrina, and also offering her a cigarette. She accepted one and let him light it for her, her puffing out some smoke too as she looked at the glass with vodka, raising an eyebrow, it look inviting, but she was wondering just how safe this was. The man smirked at her as he grabbed his glass and poured down some of the strong liquor, letting it burn his throat before making a face. Sabrina rolled her eyes and took a mouthful of the alcohol, swallowing it down without making a grimace.

"Powerful woman." The man said with a smirk, in English but with a very thick accent. "Not many women around here can drink like that."

"Do I impress you?" Sabrina asked as she leaned back into the chair, her elbows resting on the armrests, or what was left of the armrests. She brought the small 'lung cancer-stick' to her mouth and inhaled some of the dangerous smoke down into her lungs before exhaling smoke rings, impressing the man in front of her.

"Why are you here?"

"My friend was kidnapped not long ago, Afghans took her and you look like a man who knows where I can find her."

"I have influence here, yes. Let me introduce myself, my name is Jahandar Farid. I supposed you've heard of me?"

Sabrina stared at the man. She knew she had seen his face somewhere before and she suddenly realized that this man was part of their entire mission, this man was the man they had gone to Afghanistan to get. He was the leader of a terrorist group among the Arabic and South East countries of Asia. The group had been known for their manslaughter and their absolutely lack of compassion. They had blown up everything in their path, schools, hospitals, homes for elderly. They didn't seem to bother what was in their way, and the US had decided to go in and help out.

Sabrina quickly recovered from the shock of realization and took another puff from her cigarette, tensing her jaw muscles again.

"You have heard of me?"

"I have. But I don't care who you are, I want my friend back."

"The pretty one from the Bedouin camp?"

Sabrina looked right into Farid's dark eyes as she nodded, her face hard like it was cut in stone. She was nervous and she knew this man would not hesitate to kill her, but she was not going to show him her emotions nor her thoughts. She knew he would easily take advantage of it if she showed them, and she was not going to give him the opportunity of seizing the moment.

"Yes. We want her back."

"What will I get in return?" Farid smirked as he leaned forward

"We won't kill you."

"You gonna have to do better than so. Why are you here in the first place? This is no world for pretty ladies as you nor your friends."

"We're just as much soldiers as your men are, the difference is not only gender though, but we have hearts. You're men has blown up everything, you're destroying your own world, and we're here to stop you."

"You can't do anything about this. This is civil war, this is our war, you have nothing to do here, and if you try anything, it might get you killed."

Sabrina had her eyes locked with the man all the time, her jaw clenched and her eyes dark as an abyss, and without looking, the put out the smoke towards the table, tossing the cigarette end onto the sandy floor.

"A wise man once told me to never underestimate your enemy. That does not only go for you. We might be women, but so far, we're the only survivors of our troop. That might tell you that we're not only bad ass, we also have the luck on our side."

"Luck runs out after a while."

"Yes, I plan on that to happen. But I plan for it to be _your_ _luck_ running out."

"Don't count too hard on that. This is my land. There's nothing you can do here and if I were you I would go home. You're women. You still have a chance to make it out of here alive."

"You kill women and children too, why would you or your men spare our lives?"

"I haven't said we will yet."

"Why are you doing this? Why destroy your own world, your own country, kill your own people?"

"The people have lost hope, they've lost hope for a world in peace. It's easier to build a new world from ruins than already standing and doomed buildings, and the only way for the strong people to survive is to exterminate the weak. Your land wants to negotiate, but we negotiate by killing. Things are different in this part of the universe and for us, killing is a way of life."

"You're ruining your people's future." Sabrina wheezed, anger audible in her voice.

"If we don't win this war, they have no future."

_I slipped, I fell, then I lost everything_  
_ My hope, my faith, in what the future brings_  
_ In hopes of pushing past the tie that brings us down_  
_ We sing together now._

.

"If you win, they have no future anyway. Your plans for the future won't hold, they are bootless, they are just crap. The entire world will go to attack if you take this too far. End it now instead."

"We can't end this now. We've tried with politics, but you know, when the first bullets passes by your ear so close than you can feel the wind from it, all shit about politics goes right down the toilet. We fight to survive."

"There is no hope for you anymore. We will bring you down, just watch us. You need to stop what you're doing, this needs an end to it."

"Only the dead has seen the end of the war."

_Give me one reason to look you in the eye_  
_ Tell me exactly why it is that you think you are worth my time_

.

"We won't get anywhere quoting Greek philosophers like Plato, I am being serious. Why do you want to die?"

"We don't want to die, but we will fight to our deaths if it comes to that. We have faith and we have hope for this country and that hope will still be there as long as there's at least man left to fight for it. I suggest you leave, your blonde friend won't leave this basement though, we like her too much. Such a pretty face, and we're getting tired of the brunettes in this town. Some golden locks will make my men happy and I think they deserve some happiness in though times like these."

Sabrina felt like swallowing her tongue, instead she stared Farid into his eyes as she drank what was left of the vodka. She felt like shooting him at the spot for talking about one of her dearest friends like that, and she felt emotions well up inside as she wondered in what condition Jill was in. They could've done anything to her by now, and Sabrina just hoped that they would be able to save her life, even if they got her out that didn't have to mean that Jill was safe. They needed to proceed quickly, not only was Jill in danger, but Kris was left alone outside the town. Kelly was dancing in a belly dancer outfit out in a bar where 50 men would probably kill her if they knew who she was, and she wondered how they could possibly do this. But they would try. Try and win or try and die fighting. But even though this man made her want to strangle him, she also felt like giving him a kiss. He had just told her exactly what she wanted to know, he had leaked a huge piece of information and Sabrina had to work hard on her facial muscles to not let relief shine through her solid poker face.

Jill was in the basement.

.

_To all the ones that shake my hand_  
_ Then talk your shit behind my back_  
_ To those who claim they understand_  
_ But never heard a word I said_  
_ In spite of you I am still here_  
_ This vision has never been more clear_


	13. Mission: Rescue Jill

_**My computer is at the Apple-hospital, but I've borrowed my brothers for about two hours and managed to write this chapter for you to enjoy while I'm gone :) **_

_**Lyrics: Rise Against - Hairline Fracture**_

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Mission: Rescue Jill**

_A crack in the surface_  
_A flaw in the plan_  
_(Plans we made together, almost buried in the sand)_  
_A cadence imperfect_  
_Like a building condemned_  
_(Can we indemnify ourselves if we don't face what we're against)_

.

Sabrina walked out of the building from where she had been sitting with Farid, and as she walked she quickly put on the fake beard again. Farid might not kill her just like that, but she knew there could definitely be trouble with the other soldiers inside the bar. Drunk men with rifles was not any she wanted to play house with. She looked at her reflection in one of the broken windows to the bar and made sure her beard sat stuck on her face before she walked inside. She adjusted the shawl on her head a she walked through the door, back into the loud chaotic room where the men definitely had been drinking too much. She walked though the room, not dragging attention to her by doing something stupid or acting out of place. She wasn't sure the men would notice anyway, they were very busy drinking, gambling and touching the dancers inappropriately. As Sabrina looked around at the belly dancers, her stomach turning slightly. The girls' faces were covered with thin fabric, but even so, Sabrina could tell that most of these girls were still in their teens. Prostitution is not a way of life when you're not even old enough to buy alcohol in the States, and Sabrina felt for them, wishing she could help them all out someway. The men were clinging on them, their hands in positions that probably were classed as illegal, and their noses dangerously close to their chests, drool dripping from the corners of their mouths. Some of them were even up in heated motions up by the corner, and Sabrina couldn't help but to feel lucky that she had had a good childhood and upbringing. She might had traveled a lot as a child, her mother died as she was born and her father had brought her along on his trips as a soldier, where she had spent her days in different camps and bases whenever he was out. She had learned a lot about the world and she had seen a lot of things in her life, and she knew it had built her to the strong character she is today. She did wonder how different things could've been if her mother had been there with her as she grow up, and if her mother was still here today. Would she have traveled the world? Would she have seen the wonders - and the sorrows - of life? She knew one thing for sure, she would be a very different person.

Sabrina spotted Kelly from across the room, she was dancing surrounded by several drunk men, their hands reaching for her, but with swift motions of her pelvises she easily made them grasp for nothing but air. She looked confident, but definitely on guard, and Sabrina knew she was extremely uncomfortable and would love to get away from there. Which woman wouldn't? This was a man's world and women were only there to cook their food and please their testosterone filled bodies. Sabrina sighed as she walked up to the gang of them who had gathered up around Kelly, and she nonchalantly sat down on a chair, starting to send Kelly looks to get her attention. It worked quickly, Kelly came over and started dancing for Sabrina, swaying her hips towards her as if she was seducing her. Sabrina pulled her closer and put her hands onto Kelly's hips, Kelly looked down at her and put her hands on Sabrina's shoulder, still dancing freely as their eyes met. Sabrina gave Kelly a small nod, a sign that she had accomplished part one of their plan, now it was about time for part two.

Kelly backed away from Sabrina as she rose, Sabrina grabbing Kelly's hand and roughly pulling her with her out of the building, into a deserted room in one of the buildings outside. The men cheered them on as they left, they were making dirty noises and wishing them luck, apparantly thinking that Sabrina was going to get some luck tonight.

As Sabrina closed the door behind them, Kelly pulled off the piece of fabric from her face and rolled her eyes.

"Those men are pigs! Seriously! Did you see them?"

Sabrina nodded, brushing her hands off towards the kaftan that she was wearing over her uniform as Kelly pulled her clothes off to change back into her army uniform that had been hidden inside the room.

"Was it worth it?" Sabrina asked as she looked away to give Kelly some privacy to change.

"Yeah, well, some of the men spoke English, not many though and I don't understand what the others were saying. But the English speaking men talked about partying tonight, and then 'take care of her' in the morning. Do you think they mean Jill?"

"Probably. Those are good news anyway, that mean we have time tonight to get her. They seem to be too drunk to suspect anything."

"Yeah. How did you do? Was the man you found anyone important?"

"Jahandar Farid."

"You're kidding?" Kelly said, looking up at Sabrina with shock covering her face, but not meeting her eyes since Sabrina was faced away. Kelly's face read clear surprise as before she continued with pulling her thick pants on, many thoughts beginning to rush through her brain. Maybe they could get two flies in a punch? They certainly had a perfect opportunity to get to Farid now. But yes, Jill first. She was much more important.

"He was the guy I followed outside, we walked into the building next door and had a nice and warm chat. He's one hell of a dude, and he is darn right scary, but he did slip that Jill is in the basement of that building. So I suggest that we hide out and let these happy men drink even more first, and in the wee hours of the morning most of them should be passed out enough for us to be able to sneak in and get Jill out of there."

"Sounds like a plan. Not bulletproof, but definitely a plan." Kelly nodded, buttoning her jacket and then sitting down on a chair, pulling up her gun to make sure it was prepared to do some heavy shooting if necessary.

* * *

Several hours later, the two female US soldiers carefully peeked in through the windows of the bar, smiling happily to each other as most of the men were sleeping on the floor and over the tables, visibly passed out from too much drinking. Kelly and Sabrina had hid out inside the deserted building, and they had heard how the music got louder and louder, some of the girls had started screaming and then a huge fight had broken out inside. Sabrina and Kelly had both wanted to go and help the women out but they knew that it would probably mean a safe death for all of them, they could not risk getting caught in US uniforms. They would be killed, or maybe something even worse. Now as they peeked in, they didn't see all of the women, but three of them were in the middle of the room, their clothes torn and their bodies covered in blood. Their dead white faces registered pure horror and pain and both Sabrina and Kelly could feel their stomachs twist as they mourned the deaths of the young girls. They didn't even have a chance.

Night had fallen and due to all the bombs that had went off in this town, there were no electricity. The town was surrounded by the dark air, the moon and the starry cover over their heads were the only source of light, but it was well enough for the two heroines. Both Sabrina and Kelly had flashlights too, and they used them as they searched for a way into the basement. Walking around the buildings, both of them couldn't help but to feel very uneasy as the saw all the dead bodies lying around on the ground. The stench from the corpses were horrible and both of the angels had to work had to push the thought of the smell back into their heads, trying not to think about it, but it was a difficult task. Kelly felt anger burn inside of her as she watched a pair of children, not older than they could count using both hands, lying in the sand, cuddled up towards the stone building. Without double checking Kelly knew for sure that they were both dead, and she wondered how people could go this far to win something, and she wondered if, still after all this time, all of them actually knew what they were fighting for. Wars start off with something, but after a while it develops and loses its purpose. After a few generations, people just fight to fight, because they've been brought up to dislike other races and ideas because their parents and grand-parents did, but no one ever bothered explaining why. And where would that take the world?

Just look at Romeo and Juliet.

Kelly and Sabrina finally found an entrance to the basement, which were sealed with a thick rope. Sabrina nodded to Kelly who quickly brought up the khanjar from her belt and sliced the rope in two with the sharp blade before placing the khanjar back. The two of them quickly pulled open the heavy doors and carefully sneaked into the dark basement. The smell of rotting corpses hit them like a solid wall and both Kelly and Sabrina put their hands towards their mouths and noses as their bodies immediately reacted with nausea. Swallowing hard over and over again they carefully walked in through the small hallways of the basement, the dim light of their flashlights were dancing over the walls and floor, all sensed tensed up, waiting for something to happen. But the basement seemed deserted except for all the dead bodies. There were corpses everywhere, in big tubs, gloated and swollen, hanging from the walls on hooks, lying on the ground with body parts missing and nailed to various torture machines. This was obviously not a place where you wanted to be trapped.

Kelly reached down towards one of the bodies on the ground, a man stripped to his birth suit and body covered in dried blood and huge open, infected wounds, insects crawling and happily enjoying the feast. Kelly didn't know the man, but she saw the silver dog tags hanging around his neck, and she carefully pulled them off from him. He was a US soldier, and even though there was no way they could get him out of here, at least not now, by themselves, getting the dog tag was at least a way for the mourning family to know that his body was found and that the search was over, even though it'd ended in sorrow. Sabrina saw what Kelly picked up and put in a sealed pocket, and Sabrina realized what she was doing. That man was not the only US soldier, and as they had walked through the entire hallway, their pockets were quickly scrambling, filled with dog tags.

Furthest into the basement was a huge, old and rust wooden door that looked like it was on its way to collapsing. The angels looked at each other, wondering what was actually keeping this door up? Without talking to each other, afraid of being heard by guards, they nodded to each other in agreement on that could be the door they were looking for. They hadn't seen a living human so far and they were wondering if all the guards were passed out too? Sabrina didn't think so, especially not since she had talked to Farid - he knew that they would try to break Jill out, no question about it. Was he just going to let them walk out of here with her? Wasn't he going to stop them?

The door wasn't even locked.

Both Sabrina and Kelly gasped as they pulled open the door, revealing their dear friend strapped to the wall, hanging in ropes by her arms and legs. Her clothes were torn and the white tank top was covered in blood spatter. Jill's head was hanging down towards her chest, blood slowly dripping down and creating a puddle of blood on the floor. Sabrina and Kelly rushed to her side, beginning to cut her free after trying to shake her awake. Jill was mumbling incoherent words, the only words Kelly and Sabrina could make out was 'please don't'. Sabrina cut the last rope around her arm and Jill fell towards the ground, not embracing herself at all, but letting Kelly catch her. Kelly pulled her arms around her and gently lowered Jill to the floor as Sabrina cut off the ropes from Jill's legs, freeing her.

"Jill? Jill, sweetie? Can you hear me?" Kelly whispered gently as she held a hand towards Jill's cheek, slapping her gently as she tried to get her attention. Sabrina checked Jill over, wincing as she saw the grasps and abrasions over her body. Sabrina carefully took Jill's hands and looked them over, noticing that they probably hadn't gotten much out of Jill, or at least not as much as they wanted. Interrogations had been tough, Sabrina could tell as she saw Jill's swollen arms and hands, they were discolored and several of the fingers looked broken or crushed. Sabrina knew they had to bandage her arms and hands and make splinters, but there was no time for that now. They had to get her out of here first, but as Sabrina looked down she also noticed she didn't have any shoes on and as she took her feet in her hands, she noticed the dark discoloration under her feet. She winced as she thought about just how hard they had hit her towards the sole of her feet. They had not gone easy on her.

"We need to get her out." Sabrina whispered to Kelly, who nodded, knowing the same thing. No matter how, they had to get out of here before anyone came. It would just be a matter of time before they were caught with their fingers in the cookie jar and watching over Jill, it was not something they wanted to happen.

"Hold my rifle." Kelly said as she grabbed onto Jill's lifeless body and Kelly told her self to remember later to tell Jill not to eat so much. This blonde might be small and slim, but so was Kelly. Kelly took a deep breathe, she was really not muscular enough to carry Jill, but she had the mental power to push herself into doing what had to be done, she knew it's one of her best qualities and it's gotten her out of many difficult situations when she's felt there was nothing else to do. Die trying. Never surrender. Doing what she usually did with Ella, and which she'd earlier done with Kris, she threw Jill up onto her shoulder. She closed her eyes and winced as the movement shot pain through the shoulder she had dislocated, but there was no time to think about her own aces. She had to get them out of here. Holding a firm grip over Jill's thighs, with Jill's upper body hanging over her back, the trio hurried out, crossing all the dead bodies once again. Kelly steadied herself with one hand towards the wall as she climbed the stairs with Jill flung over her shoulder, hurrying to get out. Outside, Kelly took her rifle in one hand, prepared to shoot if necessary, even though she wasn't sure just how to handle that. Drop Jill to the ground? Heh.

Sabrina looked over at Kelly her eyes widened in shock as she saw Jill's back. The tank top was torn apart and her back was absolutely covered in major open wounds and dried blood. Sabrina told Kelly to stop for a second and as she did, quickly eying over Jill's back.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asked, having Jill in an angle where she couldn't see the back of her, just her butt towards her face.

"I think they've used a whiplash on her back." Sabrina said, swallowing hard. They had most definitely not gone easy on her. "Let's just get out of here, we can't help her in here."

.

_We're broken but still breathing_  
_We are wounded but we are healing_  
_We pick up right where we left off_  
_Breathe on the ashes that remain_

.

Kelly nodded, and Sabrina looked her over and saw how her eyes darted around as they turned towards the exit of the town, heading towards where they had left Kris with the camels. Sabrina could tell Kelly was worried and very nervous about something, she was looking around everywhere, trying to spot something that couldn't be seen.

"Kelly?" Sabrina whispered, nudging her slightly which made Kelly jump. "We've got her. Piece of cake. Now we're getting out. She's safe."

"It was too easy Sabrina. Why would they let us take her from them? There are no reason, they are here somewhere and they will try to kill us."

"They are all sleeping Kelly."

"Nah, I refuse to think so. They are somewhere Bri, I am sure of it."

"Kelly, we haven't seen a living soul. You saw the amount of alcohol they were drinking, they have passed out by now." Sabrina said, trying to keep Kelly's hope up even though she too felt a bad knot in her stomach. She knew too it had been way too easy.

* * *

"It seems like even back then, you knew that if something to appears to go too easily or a bad guy to fall without a fight, something is definitely wrong." Kamili said as she leaned back in the couch, listening to the story with her eyes wild in amazement. This was not anything she had to do in the military, and she was very happy to that.

"We've learned from mistakes. Nothing is ever easy." Kelly said, right before the entire gang once again turned towards Jill who was gasping in pain as another contraction hit her. As all other times, Peggy Lou grabbed onto her sister's sleeve with her eyes staring in worry at Jill who was being comforted by Kris and Damien, rubbing her back and helping her breathe through it. Kelly looked at her watch and realized they were quickly getting closer.

"20 minutes apart." She told the gang, Jill's head flying up as she looked at Kelly in horror, then towards Damien.

"I can't do this. I don't wanna do this. I can't be a mother, all children do is cry and poop and never go to sleep. I don't want a monster Damien, I don't want to have anything like Kris' trolls."

Damien pulled Jill close as he kissed her cheek, before smiling towards her, his hand by her neck, rubbing it gently. "Jill, my pretty pirate's lady, you will be an awesome mother and our little boy will be the most perfect ever. Don't worry. I'm here all the time and I will help you out, and you are surrounded by your friends who are all here for you. You're never alone in this, and I know you can do it. Yes, children cry and poop but they are magical little creatures and I'm sure everyone with a kid in this room can easily tell you that just looking at your child smiling back to you will make up for every diaper change in the past."

"Here here." Kris smiled, nodding towards Jill.

"True words." Kamili smiled too. "I remember the first time with Yasmin, she had colic and cried and cried all the time. As the colic disappeared she had stuff like inflammation of the ears and she was always so upset. I don't remember sleeping an entire night the first year, then well I went off to Vietnam. While there I spoke to her in the phone and to be honest, I thought it was kinda wonderful to not have to get up in the middle of the night to nurse, feed and comfort. But when I called home one day and Morgan gave her the phone, she asked me 'mama home soon?' and my heart just fell to pieces. Coming home and having her stumbling her way towards me at the airport, her entire face smiling in joy was one of the best moments of my life."

"That's so wonderful Kam." Kelly smiled, and Kamili turned towards Kelly with a teary smile. Yasmin was one of the few living beings that could easily make the though angel cry tears of joy.

"She's my world. My reason for breathing. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to her."

"Nothing's gonna happen." Kelly smiled, reaching over to brush Kamili's upper arm. "We'll make sure of it."

"I would never let anyone touch my favorite Diallo." Janet nodded, earning a smack on the arm from Kamili.

"What about me? I thought I was your favorite Diallo!"

"No way, you can't compete with your girl. She makes Sandra play with her dolls and she brings me ice cream and let me play with her dinosaurs. See? Much cooler than you Kam." Janet smirked, making Kamili roll her eyes.

Sandra sighed as she poked Kelly's arm.

"Kelly, I don't care if they don't wanna hear the rest of the story but I do. Please continue." She said, batting her eyelashes in a flirtatious move towards Kelly, who laughed and patted Sandra's head.

"Well, as I told you, I had a feeling that it went way too easy and my gut was telling me that something bad was about to go down. I never thought for a second that they would let us just walk out with Jill, and well... They didn't let us."

.

_I walk on wounds_  
_That seldom prove to slow me down_  
_I laugh this constant pain away_  
_So you can't tell_  
_But there it lies under the smiles_  
_It drains me mile after mile_  
_But seldom proves to slow me down_  
_Here I go_

_Should we just hold on_  
_To what remains of_  
_What we thought was lost_

_But it's just a crack in the surface_  
_A flaw in the plan_


	14. Save the Munroes

_**There, my computer has gone through surgery and recovered well enough to be able to get home, happy me! I've written the upcoming chapters by hand already so I just need to get it down onto the computer, but down worry, I type fast ;) Anywhere, here we go chapter 13! Thank you all out there for your positive reviews!**_

_**Lyrics: Rise Against - From Heads Unworthy**_

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Save the Munroes**_**  
**_

_We are the children you reject and disregard_  
_ These aching cries come from the bottom of our hearts_  
_ You can't disown us now, we are your own flesh and blood_  
_ And we don't disappear just because your eyes are shut, _  
_ Now tell me_

.

Kelly and Sabrina hurried through the town, Kelly gritting her teeth as her body complained underneath Jill's weight. She had carried Kris not too long ago and the sister's were pretty much the same weight, but she had also hurt her shoulder again after carrying Kris and it was really sore right now. She winced as she rearranged Jill on her shoulder, knowing Jill was hurt she didn't want to drop her to the ground by accident.

"Can you make it?" Sabrina asked, worried about Kelly pushing herself too hard. She knew Kelly could push herself to do almost anything, but at the some time her body would tell her to rest. She was definitely going o hurt herself if she pushed herself too hard for too long, Sabrina knew that and their group as already hurt enough. The smart angel knew that if Kelly got badly hurt, none of them would make it. Sabrina had been called the leader of the group, and maybe she did like to take charge, but Kelly was definitely the glue in the group, she was the one to keep everyone together and she was the one who pushed all others to keep going even though they were completely exhausted. Kelly had some magical way of always getting them out of trouble, and Sabrina thanked God for that.

Without Kelly, where would they be today?

"It's fine, it's not too far to go." Kelly answered with her jaws clenched, gritting her teeth, fighting to keep going.

"We're almost there." Sabrina encouraged, her hand on Kelly's back.

But rounding the corner they suddenly knew that they had been correct earlier. Things would not go so easily, Farid would not just let them walk out of here. Although it wasn't Jahandar Farid in front of them, but the sight of the 6'11" Afghan man made both Kelly and Sabrina stop in their tracks. They knew him, they recognized his face even though the only light shining upon it was the dim light of the moon, but even so, it was easy to recognize the scarred face of Aamir Farid, Jahandar's younger brother and right hand man, a man just as dangerous as his brother. Kelly and Sabrina had been told that this man, along with Jahandar, killed their parents to be able to get control of the business and major part of their country. With their parents out of the picture they were able to change and form their world into how they wanted it to be, a world shaped by terror, pain and suffering. People fear terror, and when people are frightened, it's easier getting them to where you want them. Scare a man and you can use him to make sure your hands don't get any blood on them, you can force more people to do more than they ever thought was possible.

But you will never win their hearts.

_As their castles crumble slowly_  
_ We watch them fall_  
_ The crown slips from heads unworthy_  
_ As we gain control_

.

Aamir was standing a few feet away from them when Kelly and Sabina saw him and both of them immediately stopped dead in their tracks. For a few seconds neither of them spoke, even breathed as the air was tense and filled with anger after the two worlds collecting in a loud, but yet completely silenced, crash. Aamir was standing next to Bano, her boy and their belongings. He was holding onto Kris, her hands appeared to be tied behind her back and he held onto her pigtail with one hand, forcing her head upright as he pressed a sharp knife towards her throat, putting pressure against her larynx. Kris' breathing was hard and labored, her eyes wide open in fear as tears streamed down her sunburned face, and Kelly could tell her dear friend was shaking out of fear. Aamir started talking, his voice raspy and hoarse, and even though Kelly didn't understand what he was saying, it was easy to tell the man was angry. Kelly heard Sabrina's breathing next to her change, and Kelly glanced over at her.

"What is he saying?"

"The boy you killed when they kidnapped Jill... It was his oldest son, Jahandar's nephew." Sabrina said, her voice trembling with worry, staring right into Aamir's black eyes. Aamir was pressing the knife so hard against Kris' throat that they could actually see small drops of blood slowly begun to drip as the sharp blade of the knife begun to rupture the sensitive skin. Kris were crying and Aamir was roaring something to her, but as she couldn't understand what he was saying, she cried even worse, resulting in him growing even more mad. Kelly slowly put Jill down into the sand, stepping in front of her lifeless form to protect her friend, and Sabrina quickly moved up in front of Jill too, still looking straight at Aamir. Sabrina then spoke to the man in a language neither Kelly nor Kris understood, but the man obviously did as he tensed his eyes, leaned forward towards Kelly and Sabrina, forcing Kris to bend forward as he spoke in a dark and chilling voice.

Sabrina looked towards Kelly, not being able to meet her eyes since Kelly's eyes were locked with Kris', the two of them were staring at each other, their eyes telling a story no one else could read or understand. Kris looked Kelly into her green eyes who looked black in the dark night, trying to read into the battered soul, wondering what the brunette was planning, what was she going to do? Kris knew without doubt that Kelly's brain was frantically rambling, trying to come up with the best solution to get Kris out of here alive. Sabrina nudged Kelly's arm, getting her attention, knowing Kelly was listening even though Kelly's full attention seemed to be staring into Kris' frightened eyes.

"Kelly. He said you killed his son and he is going to kill Kris. An eye for an eye."

An eye for an eye. Old memories suddenly played out in front of her eyes and for a few seconds, everything around her seemed to disappear as old memories of being a young child and Beemish screaming at her came to her mind.

* * *

_"Damn it, stand up for yourself! You're too weak!" _

_Little Kelly looked up at the angry matron who was obviously mad about something again, Kelly didn't have much idea what had made her matron go mad again, but it didn't take much to make Beemish angry with her. Usually a look was all it took. Beemish suddenly faded away for a second and was replaced with one of Kelly's favorite nuns. _

_"Everyone has someone they'd do anything for."_

_The vision of the nun was only there for a second before she was replaced with Beemish's ugly face again._

_"Pick yourself up off the floor and go on! That is life, Garrett."_

_A child, not much older than Kelly was suddenly standing above her as she was on her stomach on the floor, trying hard not to cry after being badly beaten up. The child spat at her and grinned. _

_"You're just street scum! You will never be anything more than that. You'll never have a home."_

_Before Kelly could react, Beemish was blocking her view again._

_"Those children, those VILE children, hate you. But you're better than them because you have guts that they don't. To do things that they would never think of. Hate me Garrett, hate me all you want, hate me enough to SPIT ON ME." _

_One of her many foster mothers suddenly took Beemish place. "All of us do things we never expect of ourselves."_

_Beemish again. This woman had certainly left a major mark in Kelly's mind. "Sometimes, when you're not looking, a monster develops inside of you. Then when the time is right, you let it take over."_

_Kelly gasped as Beemish killed Kelly's little rabbit that one of the foster parents had given her once. Beemish didn't even flinch as the rabbit drew a breath and died. _

_"An eye for an eye."_

_

* * *

_

Kelly took a breath as she straightened her back, a darkness in her eyes as she prepared for what she would have to do. She knew that she had been told so many things in her life, and she realized a person must do certain things, and never look back and regret them. What happens to us shapes us for the future and at times, you have to stand up for what you love and be willing to fight for it.

Kelly's hand was trailing along the back of her pants, her fingers gripping the handle of a small knife she had tucked down before. The knife was small and thin, only half an inch in diameter. It as small enough for Kelly to be able to conceal it in her closed fist, but sharp and long enough to cause very serious damage if handled correctly. And if anyone in this group knew how to handle a knife, it was Kelly Garrett. As Aamir was shouting to them, words meaning noting to Kelly, he turned his head slightly to the side as he screamed something to a man next to him.

No one saw it coming before Aamir suddenly fell to the ground, Kris falling out of his grip in shock and stunned surprise. She immediately turned towards the man that had held her hostage and her eye widened as she saw the small knife sticking out from is temple. Kris looked up at Kelly and then quickly began to crawl towards her in the same time as both Sabrina and Kelly grabbed their guns, unsecured them and let the bullets whistle through the air before the loyal men of Aamir had time to shoot the angels. Kris reacted by lying down on her tummy, covering her head with her hands as lots of fires went off above her head.

It was all over within a matter of seconds.

_This is the family that we crossed or never had_  
_ This is a war that was lost the day that it began_  
_ 'Cause it's the race we run, but it keeps us at the start_  
_ And it's the song I sung from the bottom of heart_

.

Kelly was suddenly grabbing onto Kris' body, helping her up into sitting position, putting her hands at the lower jawline bones, forcing Kris' head up to get a look at the grasp where blood was coming from Kris' neck. Kelly gently pushed her thumb towards it, making sue it wasn't bleeding too much, but the blood flow was already getting lighter. Kris pulled her arms around Kelly, not even thinking about the pain the movement caused her. Kelly held her hard as Kris cried towards her shoulder. Kris let go o her emotions for a minute or two, letting Kelly comfort her as she broke down in tears. Kelly held her hand towards the back of Kris' head, rubbing her neck gently while she was whispering calming words into Kris' ear. As Kris' heartbeats began to calm down and her pulse went back to normal, Kris looked up from Kelly's shoulder and looked towards Sabrina and Jill who was down on her stomach on the ground. Kris slowly let of of Kelly and began to crawl to her sister's side, Kelly supporting her as Kris saw down next to Jill. Kris put her hands on top of her sister's back, looking over her bruised and blood soaked face, her swollen hands and arms and the back covered in blood and wounds.

"What... What have they done to her?" Kris whispered as the tears began to fall freely again, the sight of her battered sister in front of her made her heart ache.

"She's been beaten badly, but she is alive and breathing. We all are. Let's get out of here, let's get out of here now." Sabrina said, Kris and Kelly nodding in agreement.

Sabrina and Kelly both helped out to move Jill to the bed Kris had been in earlier. As Sabrina watched Jill over quickly, Kelly went back a couple of feet and supported Kris back to her sister who was in her side, showing up the badly beaten face, making Kris gasp again. Kelly rubbed her back, knowing how close Kris and Jill was and how hard it was for the sisters to see each other hurt.

"Kris, lie down next to Jill and we'll get out of here. When we're somewhere safe we'll help Jill and talk about what happened, okay?"

Kris nodded towards Kelly who had spoken and moved close to her sister, carefully lying down next to her on the makeshift bed as Sabrina moved away. Kelly walked up to Bano who had gotten to her feet along with her boy as the gunfight had broken out. Kelly gently patted the big head of the animal and the camel leaned her head towards Kelly, giving her a small affectionate shove before the gang begun moving away from this location, leaving seven dead bodies behind, letting them bleed out into the sand as dawn begun to approach them.

By the time sun was up again, the angels and the camels had reached another destroyed town. Most parts of the town was completely destroyed by bombs, people from here had fled a long time ago and left their homes behind, seeking shelter at another location, trying their luck somewhere else. The angels had found a building in the town that was still standing up, a house with a well outside the door and several old rundown mattresses on the floor in one of the rooms. Sabrina and Kelly helped to carry Jill to one of them and Kelly then supported a very exhausted Kris to another bed. Kris' fever was going down but as Kelly put the back of her hand towards Kris' forehead, she could feel that Kris was still very hot. Tonight had been exhausting and Kelly knew it had taken a great deal of energy from Kris.

"Close your eyes and rest Kris. We'll watch over Jill, you just take it easy and get some sleep, gather up some energy." Kelly smiled, stroking Kris' cheek with her hand, and Kris nodded, closing her eyes as she did, and it didn't take long before the youngest angel fell into a stressed slumber.

Sabrina came inside after fishing up some water from the well and she out the bucket next to Jill who was still unconscious in the bed, a state she had remained in since they found her the previous night, something that was worrying both Kelly and Sabrina. The two of them grabbed a blanket from Bano and Kelly begun cleaning Jill's back as Sabrina tore a shawl into several pieces, using it to bandage Jill's arms and fingers.

"Broken?" Kelly asked as she looked over to Sabrina, the older angel shrugging her shoulders.

"Some fingers certainly are, but I don't know about her wrists. If she's lucky, they are "just" badly sprained. I can't tell without an x-ray, but I'll bandage them anyway to keep them still and give some support. Bandaging will also help to keep the swelling down." Sabrina said, more to herself than to Kelly, but none the less, Sabrina was still talking as Kelly was wincing as she saw the deep lacerations covering Jill's muscular back.

* * *

"Woah! Ya must've been in so much pain!"

"I was Peggy, but I don't remember this. I was out for quite some time and you haven't even heard about what hurt me the most yet." Jill said as she looked over towards the teen with the over sized hair.

"We stayed at that building for several days. By then, Kris' fever was pretty much gone and Jill was recovering. But it wasn't until she fully woke up about 48 hours after saving her that we found out about the major source of her pain." Kelly explained, looking over towards Jill who was fingering lightly towards her hip, at a location where Kelly knew there was definitely scars to remind them all of the sight they had seen.

"Something was worse than crushed fingers and being beaten with a whiplash?" Janet said in surprise, not even wanting to imagine what kind of pain they had put Jill through.

"A lot worse." Jill sighed, her fingers tangling together with Damien's.

"The minute Jill woke up, we knew something was really wrong." Kris said, looking over at her sister and meeting her eyes.

* * *

Kelly, Kris and Sabrina were all sitting around the old table in the house where they were hiding out. Kelly had gone hunting earlier and managed to shoot a rabbit, all three of them being very happy with getting some fresh meet into them. They hadn't eaten much the last days. Sabrina had found an old casserole in the half standing building and after creating a fire with some old and dry wood, they were now happily eating some warm meet.

They were all eating in silence, enjoying the food as they heard Jill moan loudly in pain in the other room, and all three of them immediately went there, kneeling next to her. Kris put her hand on top of her sister's head and gently brushed some hair away from her sweaty face that was twisted in pain, her entire body tensed and her breathing labored.

"Jill, sweetie, can you hear me?" Kris asked, wanting to hold onto her hand, but got reminded of what kind of treatment and hospitality her sister had been getting as she saw the temporary bandages.

"Hurt…" Jill whispered as a steady stream of tears came from her eyes.

"You're back? Or your arms?" Sabrina asked, resulting in Jill shaking her head.

"Hip." She whispered, meeting her sister's eyes.

"The hip?" Kris asked, looking up towards Sabrina and Kelly who looked just as confused as she did. Sabrina gently unbuttoned Jill's thick pants and gently moved them away to take a look at her hip. All three of them gasped loudly as they saw the big wound, by the right side of Jill's hip was a big infected wound.

"What… What's that from?" Kris whispered, swallowing hard as she did. The wound was smelling bad from the infection and all of them knew it would take a lot on Jill's body to heal this by itself.

"It… it looks like she's been branded." Sabrina whispered, clenching her jaw.

"Holy crap." Kelly whispered as she rose to her feet, getting some fabric and water, getting back inside she gave it to Sabrina before leaning down over Jill's face. "Jill, sweetie. It looks bad and we're going to clean it okay? I'm sure it will hurt but you're strong enough to handle it, I know you are."

"Just… do it." Jill whispered, her jaws clenched and her eyes looked with Kris'.

The second the first drops of water touched Jill's hips, her head lulled back for a long second as she cried out in pain, before her eyes rolled back into her head and Jill passed out.

"Jill? Jill!" Kris cried, shaking her sister as much as her own body allowed her to.

"Kris, calm down, passing out is just the body's way of controlling the pain. It's better for her if she doesn't feel anything." Kelly said, reaching over and putting her hand on Kris' shoulder.

Sabrina took advantage of Jill being out cold and used the time to neatly clean the heavy burn wound, making sure there were no dirt or gravel in it, before getting the medic bad and what was left in it. It had been attached to Bano as they rescued Jill and even though there wasn't much left in it, they did have some antiseptic fluid and some compresses and tape.

"How can anyone do something like this?" Kris whispered, not really seeking for an answer. Her voice was filled with anger and hate, wondering how people could be so harsh and rootless to beat and brand a young woman.

"Jill is insanely strong." Sabrina said, earning looks from both Kelly and Kris. Not looks of distrust, they knew very well that Jill was, just like them, a very strong character and it would take a lot to shake her foundations. They had worked hard on her, but she was still alive.

"I mean…" Sabrina continued. "This kind of treatment could have killed anyone else. She might be bad, but she is still alive and that's really all that matters at the moment. She will recover, I'm sure of it, she is strong enough to fight it off. We will hide out and give her some time to recover and when she's strong enough to continue, we'll get back to the base."

Everyone sat in silence for a while after Sabrina finished talking. They all know Sabrina was trying to keep their hopes up, but they had a feeling it wouldn't be just that easy or go just that smoothly. Hell, they didn't even know in what direction the base was located. Making a mistake, they could walk straight into the embrace of Jahandar Farid and his men.

"How long have we been out?" Kris suddenly asked, breaking the tensed silence as she leaned back towards the wall, but quickly rearranged her body to be able to sit more comfortable. She closed her eyes a bit, her back still felt like it had been torn into pieces and set on fire, and she still wasn't able to lift her left arm. Sabrina had told her that the bullet had gone into the shoulder blade and the bone had cracked. Sabrina couldn't of course tell how bad the shoulder blade was without x-ray or other medical machines, but she guessed that the injured shoulder blade had saved Kris' life. If the blade hadn't stopped the bullet, the road to her heart had been a short one for a bullet to travel.

"About a week I think." Kelly sighed. "I've lost count of the days."

"Do you think anyone is searching for us?" Kris whispered, wincing as she moved her arm into a more comfortable position.

"Probably not." Kelly said, her voice dark and filled with anger. "Getting home alive is up to none other than us and I promise you, I will make sure all of us gets back to California. This is not our time to die."

The room was once again filled with a tense silence for a while, all of them lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes, before Kelly moved over to Kris, helping her to lie down in a comfortable position.

"Rest Kris, you'll need your energy for later. Close your eyes and charge your batteries, okay?" Kelly whispered, comforting Kris as Sabrina took care of Jill.

It didn't take long before Kris once again fell asleep towards Kelly's arm and as she did, Kelly gently put her body down onto the mattress before moving over to Sabrina and Jill.

"Can I do anything?" Kelly asked as she put her hand on top of Jill's forehead as Sabrina was cleaning the best she could.

"Not really. All antibiotics that survived the explosion were given to Kris, Jill's gonna have to fight this off herself."

"So, by giving Kris it all, we… we've doomed Jill?" Kelly asked, dread in her voice as she met Sabrina's eyes. Sabrina didn't answer, but Kelly could easily see the worry in Sabrina's eyes.

"We need to get both of them some clothes." Sabrina said instead, rising to her feet, beginning to search through the closets and drawers. Kelly stayed next to Jill, holding her head, just looking over and observing her, whispering to her to stay strong. They needed her more now than ever.

.

_I'm not after fame and fortune_  
_ I'm after you_  
_ When I've served my time I swear I _  
_ will come back for you_

_ As their castles crumble slowly_  
_ We watch them fall_  
_ The crown slips from heads unworthy_  
_ Right on to ours, but I'm after you_


	15. Sniper's Playground

_**Lyrics: **_  
_**Rise Against - Anywhere but here.**_  
_**Dolly Parton - Say Forever You'll Be Mine**_

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Snipers playground**

_We've been alright up until now,_  
_ but the air that we breathe is about to run out._  
_ We've rehearsed our lines clear and loud,_  
_ but the cue never came and the lights,_  
_ they never went down._

"Aaawww!"

Everyone glanced over at Peggy Lou who was looking over at Kelly with a big silly smile in her face.

"That is so cute, ya care so much for others even if ya sometimes play hard faced, ya sure have a heart of gold!"

Jill looked over at Kelly, a big grin in her face in the same time as she was moving around, walking around in the room, her legs being too restless and her back hurting. Damien had tried to walk next to her but she had strictly told him to sit down on his behind, and not daring to argue with an angel in labor, he sat down to observe her instead.

Kelly rolled her eyes at Jill and Peggy, deciding that no answer at all was the best way to approach the situation.

Obviously, she was wrong.

"Kelly loooves me." Jill grinned as she looked over att Kelly again. "She loooves meee."

"I do not. I…. I just didn't want you to die. Too much paperwork and we would never be able to get Kris home safely." Kelly said sternly, but the glimpse of a smile shined through her eyes.

Jill laughed at Kelly, continuing to pace around as she begun humming Dolly Parton's "Say Forever You'll Be Mine".

_Say forever you'll be mine  
Forever is the love that is filled with understanding  
Forever is the love that is true and undemanding  
Forever is the love that can stand the test of time  
Forever I am yours, say forever you'll be mine_

_Trouble clouds may fill our skies  
It might even rain awhile  
But the rain will go away  
There's always a brighter day_

_Darling, I won't promise you  
That we'll be happy all the time  
But forever I am yours, say forever you'll be mine  
Forever I am yours, say forever you'll be mine  
Say forever you'll be mine, forever I am yours  
And I'll do anything that you ever ask me to  
And I'll do what you want me to_

_Darling, I won't promise you  
That we'll be happy all the time  
But forever I am yours, say forever you'll be mine_

She had only sung a few notes before Peggy chimed in, never late for a sing-a-long and the two of them happily sang the song together. Kelly put her face into her hands and groaned loudly as she had to listen to the two of them. Peggy Lou always sung along, it was enough that someone came inside humming something quietly, and you would have to listen to the entire song being sung loudly at least four times. Luckily, Peggy Lou had a great western flair country voice that was beautiful to listen at, but according to Kelly fact still remained.

The teen was insanely annoying.

"Well." Janet said loudly, interrupting the two singing birds. "Obviously Jill survived. Tell us how it all went down, please."

"We didn't really keep track of the days or hours, but about a week later, two weeks out in the field, Jill was beginning to walk around a little." Kelly said, facing Janet.

"I was in excruciating pain, especially my hip and hands hurt so bad, but I knew we had to keep going if we were going to get home, if all of us were going to see California's beaches and sunshine again, I would have to get up. I had already delayed us long enough and we were all worn out." Jill nodded, putting her hands on top of the backrest of the couch, behind her man, stretching her back.

"We found clothes in one of the abandoned homes, so Jill could get out of the torn top and Kris out of the shawl and blanket. We drank from the well and went out to shoot wild animals to cook and eat. Bano and her boy seemed to enjoy the vacation and after being very worried about Jill's health for a couple of days, she suddenly seemed to have turned around." Kelly told the interested listeners, falling out into the world of war again as the memories overcome her.

* * *

"Lie down and rest Jill. Kris, maybe you should rest too." Kelly said as she helped Jill to lie down on the bed behind Bano.

"I can walk." Kris said, grabbing a gun with the arm which shoulder blade wasn't hurt. The left arm was resting in a sling to keep the shoulder blade still to help it heal better.

"Don't overdo yourself Kris, don't push yourself beyond what you can handle." Kelly immediately argued, looking over towards Kris.

"Kelly, really. Let me walk a little. I'll get bedsores from lying down so much."

Kelly sighed, nodding towards Kris as she didn't have enough energy nor strength to waste on arguing with her friends, but the truth was that they were all getting on each others nerves. Kelly knew it, Sabrina knew it, Kris and Jill knew it. The air between them was tensed and a catastrophe was just bound to happen, waiting around the corner. They were all tired, exhausted, hungry and sore, wanting a hot bath, a fine five star dinner and a soft bed to sleep in. But Kelly, all of them, knew it would take time before they would be able to get back to base, and Kelly had a bad feeling in her gut telling her that something else had to be taken care of too.

Their mission. If they didn't complete their mission, all of this would've been a complete waste, the pain and suffering would've been for nothing, absolutely nada, and Kelly knew she would never be happy with herself if that would be the outcome of this.

They had to stop Jahandar Farid.

The four angels and two camels begun to move, Sabrina who had some sense of direction knew their camp should be to the west, but without compasses, Sabrina relied on the sun as they begun moving. They walked in silence, afraid of setting anyone else off. Kelly kept sending glances towards Kris, making sure she was okay all the time. Kelly ad a rifle hanging over her shoulder, Kris had a revolver in her waistband, not being able to fire a rifle with just one hand.

.

_So we're passing the time, _  
_ while time passes us._  
_ The fast lanes a term never applied to us._  
_ Without a dime to my name,_  
_ or a prayer in the world._  
_ I walk out the door._

.

Sabrina held a knife in her hand and Kelly frowned in confusion as she watched Sabrina bring the knife towards her arm. With a quick motion, she tore away the red cross that was sewn onto the jacket, and she let it fall to the ground. Kelly's brain quickly picked up. A sniper would probably prefer killing the medic first, knowing that without a medic, the other injured soldiers wouldn't even have a chance.

* * *

They had begun walking by dawn and as the hot day turned to smoldering dusk, all of them were very tired and aching. Kris had lied down now and then next to her sister to rest and then had all taken several breaks now and then to eat and drink, and more important, clean Jill's many wounds, which needed constant care to keep them clean. It was not like she could do it herself. Jill was awake several hours at the time, but the second Sabrina cleaned Jill's would from the branding iron at her hip, Jill immediately passed out, the pain getting way too intense. Kris never watched as Sabrina or Kelly cleaned it, it was just too hard for her to see as they scraped away pieces of dead flesh o make sure necrosis didn't spread or make Jill sick.

As night arrived they found a small lake in the shadow of huge trees and decided that it was a good place to spend the night. Bano and her boy, that by now Sabrina had begun calling Arman – meaning 'man in the army' – took a well deserved rest in the shade after drinking half the lake.

Kelly and Kris got out of their clothes and carefully went down into the cool water, a nice change from the blasting heat they had been traveling in all day. Kris shivered as Kelly dipped the edge of a shawl into the water and helped Kris clean off her back. Kris pulled away from Kelly as she slightly nudged around the bullet wound, and the brunette angel quickly withdrew her hand.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, it's… it's just so sore." Kris whispered weakly, letting Kelly put a hand onto her good shoulder.

"I know sweetie, I'm sorry. But it's closing up fine, Bri did a good job with the stitches."

"I'm sure she did." Kris smiled before she inhaled sharply again as Kelly once again cleaned around her wound.

Kris closed her eyes and let Kelly clean her back for a few minutes, focusing on everything else but the pain, even though it was not easy for her.

"You okay Kris?"

Kris opened her eyes and turned her head slightly towards Kelly.

"Yeah?"

"You're shaking?"

"I'm freezing. You're not?"

"I'm cool and it's really a nice difference from sweating in our uniforms. It's 90 degrees outside, if you didn't notice."

"I believe I noticed."

Kelly smiled as she helped Kris up onto the edge of the lake, helping her to sit down with her feet still in the water. Grabbing a dry blanket, she wiped Kris' back off gently before wrapping Kris into the blanket. Kelly then stood up, walking over to another blanket and her clothes.

"Then you're smarter than your sister." Kelly grinned. "Do you need help getting dressed or anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

Kelly couldn't help but to smirk, and the giggled as she noticed Kris' cheeks turning red.

"Do you want me to get dressed first?" Kelly grinned, knowing very well how uncomfortable Kris could get at times. True, they hadn't know each other that long yet.

"I-I-I uhm, y-you... I-I don't care." Kris said, looking away as she blushed even more.

"You said you were cold."

"I-I did."

"Are you still cold?"

"... Not really."

"Well then you can wait." Kelly grinned as she begun getting dressed into the damp uniform, pulling on her tank top and thick pants. Looking over at Kris, she noticed the blonde covering her eyes and Kelly couldn't help but to chuckle.

"Won't the... uh... wet clothes make you sick?" Kris said, really making a big thing out of looking another direction.

"It's hot out, they'll dry in 20 minutes."

"Oh... oh, okay. Uhm, that's good."

"Am I making you nervous?"

"No! I'm just not used to women dressing in front of me."

Kelly chuckled again as she buckled the belt at her pants and then took Kris' clothes, walking over to her again.

"We're all women here, nothing to be ashed for, and considering how small bikinis we squeeze ourselves into, I think we've seen most of each other anyway." Kelly smiled with a wink, making Kris chuckle out loud into a delirious, nervous giggle.

* * *

Kelly and Sabrina kept guard during the night, and as the morning rose, they soon begun walking again. They were if possible even more sore and tired than before they went to sleep on the ground, Kelly as usual cuddled up as close to Bano as possible. As they walked, they couldn't help but to wonder if they ever would make it back home. Kelly's eyes begun to water as pictures of her little Ella appeared on her corneas. Her little girl that she had adopted not too long ago, who was staying with Bosley. Was Ella missing her? Was Bosley worried? Was Charlie working on getting to them? Were they trying to find them? So many thoughts was thrown around in their minds, pictures of their families back home, wondering if they would ever see them again, knowing that so many of the men at the base would never see their families. Kelly was certainly fighting to get back to Ella, she had not adopted her to send her right back to an orphanage, it was really not fair to the young girl Kelly loved so much. Kelly wanted her to grow up, to grow up to a fine and proud woman with experience of life and a heart filled with love.

They wondered how Charlie was dealing with this, would he make it if they didn't return to him? It was because of him accepting the case a few years ago that got them into the army in the first place and even though none of the angels held him responsible, they still wondered how he was dealing with all of this.

* * *

After several hours of walking they soon saw building in the distance. In the same time as they all longed for some shelter, they all had a bad feeling in their stomachs. The Afghans could be anywhere lurking around the corner and all their senses were on top as they walked towards the buildings. Getting there, it looked like most of the other places they'd seen so far, deserted, dead. The sand colored stone buildings were still standing to some part, but it was easy to see that a rumble had taken place here as some of the buildings were just two or three walls, giving them a clear view of fully decorated homes, empty from any human creature though. All of them walked carefully among the debris, careful not to step on anything crucial, like a land mine or something like that. It could be the last thing they ever did. They all refused to die now, they had survived so much else and dying now wasn't an option.

"Do you think anyone is here?" Kris whispered as she walked close to Kelly, feeling safer in her presence.

"It doesn't seem like it but let's keep our eyes open and our ears sharp." Sabrina said as her eyes darted around among the buildings, prepared to snap up any kind of warning that danger was approaching.

Walking around the corner, they carefully walked over the debris on the ground. As they rounded that corner, a huge clock tower came into view and the four of them stopped and looked at it.

"I bet the view is great from up there." Sabrina said, as Kelly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'll get a good sense of direction from up there?"

"I'll?" Sabrina repeated, looking over to Kelly who was nodding.

"You hide down here with Kris and Jill, keep them safe. I'll go up and check it out."

"Should you go up there by yourself?" Kris asked, putting her hand on Kelly's arm.

"It's alright. This place is completely dead. If someone was up there and wanted to shoot us, he would've done it by now."

"Okay, but be damn careful, okay?" Sabrina said, looking sternly towards Kelly.

"Always." Kelly said, offering Sabrina and Kris a smile as she walked away from them, towards the clock tower that rose high and proudly towards the sky.

Kelly sighed as she begun to climb up the stairs. She knew she would feel this in her legs later, the tower was high and there were many steep steps to climb, carrying the protection gear and weapons, Kelly was longing for her bed. She couldn't wait to get home and rest, and she planned on getting a few weeks vacation, and she also expected to see a major bonus out of this.

She kept her gun leveled in front of her as she walked into the room, she didn't see anyone and she lowered the rifle and begun to look around. There were no windows, but only half walls, perfect for a sniper to hide. Above her head was the huge clock in bronze hanging, and in the corner of the big area was a radio transmitter/receiver standing. Kelly both felt joy – maybe they could get in touch with their base and get some help sent out. But in the same time she also felt worry creep up behind her, she knew something was wrong. If there were a radio here, there should be a human who knows how to handle it too, and Kelly could see that the radio was not an American one. It quickly drowned the little joy that she'd felt.

The joy disappeared completely as she turned around towards some boxes s towards the wall, and before she could react, a man jumped up from behind them, swinging an M14 in front of him.

.

_So I dropped out of my own race,_  
_ a race with no finish line,_  
_ no first or last place._  
_ These faces all rush right past me._  
_ I turn and walk away,_  
_ cause we finally know now what our_  
_ time here's about, we were not meant to be_  
_ another face in the crowd._

.

Kelly fell backwards as the gun slammed towards the side of her face, and she slammed hard onto the ground, her shoulder complaining badly as she used her hands to brace herself for the fall. She didn't let the pain take over though, instead she scrambled to her feet, spitting out blood that was dripping into her mouth, dripping from the side of her face. The man swung his rifle over his head, a cocky grin in his face as he walked towards her. Kelly frowned in confusion. Why didn't he just shoot her? Why would he beat her up with a rifle?

Kelly's confusion struck her like a brick wall and her confused face turned into a devilish grin.

He was out of bullets.

But so was she. As she had backed off from him, he leaned down and quickly pulled up her rifle, tossing it out of the tower, his laugh filling up the area under the major clock as he did.

* * *

Down below, the rifle falling out of the tower, bumping onto the roof further down and then landing on the ground got Kris' attention. Sabrina was bhusy with Jill and Kris immediately knew something was very wrong up there. With Sabrina busy, Kris decided that Sabrina had to stay with Jill anyway, and she hurried over towards the tower, her body screaming at her as she begun to climb the stairs, but the thought of Kelly being hurt made her legs speed up.

* * *

Inside, underneath the clock, Kelly and the Afghan was fully busy fighting, Kelly had managed to him him head first into his stomach like an angry bull. He had thrown his rifle down, hitting her right over her back, but Kelly had too much into the fight to even flinch by the impact. He jumped aside, sending Kelly stumbling forward through the room, but she quickly recovered enough to turn around and face him, her hands ready in position in front of her, her fingers tensed, ready to grab onto him, or anything else. He didn't waste any time, and rushed her immediately, running towards her with his rifle in front of him. Kelly grabbed onto the M14, twirling it over her head, both of them holding on to it. As he came up behind her , she pulled the rifle down towards her front with high force as she bent over, sending the Afghan sprawling over her shoulder, and landing on his back in front of Kelly. He dropped the rifle in the fall and Kelly wasn't slow on hitting him hard into his chest by bringing the back of the rifle down at it. He rolled away after the first hard connection to his ribcage, and Kelly grinned as she threw his rifle out from the tower too, just like he had done with hers.

.

_We're a forest of lives,_  
_ but we grow tall and wide. _  
_ We'll never be cut down._

.

The man rushed her again and Kelly's reflexes made her jump aside as he came. She grabbed onto his collar, giving him an extra push, trying to send him on a flying course of from the tower, but he managed to brace himself before he went out. He quickly turned around again, Kelly mocking him by smiling and crooking her fingers towards him, motioning for him to come to her.

Kelly was badass and she couldn't help but to enjoy kicking a man's ass.

The joy didn't last too long though as he managed to hit her with a straight right hook to her already sore shoulder, and she landed hard on her back. The man quickly sat down on top of her and pinned her down with his knees, beginning to furiously hit her in the face and chest. Kelly fought hard, but her arms were painfully pressed down underneath both her and his weight and no matter how much she tried to get her legs around his waist, he was just too far away.

A gunshot ringing out through the room made Kelly flinch roughly, and the man stopped hitting her instantly. Kelly looked at him, noticing the blood beginning to spread over his white cotton sweater, his entire chest being covered by the blood within matter of seconds. Kelly sighed and pushed him off from her, looking towards the door, she smiled as she saw her blonde young friend standing there with a smoldering gun in her hand, lowering it as Kelly rose to her feet.

The two of them just looked at each other for a few minutes, all that could be heard was the heavy breathing from the two angels before Kris' face broke out into a grin.

"Sorry if I interrupted anything, maybe you wanted some private time with prince charming?" Kris grinned as she tucked the gun down by her waistband.

"You're taking after your sister too much." Kelly smiled as she rolled her eyes, brushing herself off.

"You okay?" Kris asked, walking up to Kelly, gently putting her hand onto Kelly's injured shoulder. Looking at Kelly's face she could see how it was beginning to swell and there was a gash by the side of her head.

"I'm fine, just a few more bumps and bruises to add for my collection."

Kris nodded as the two of them looked out from the tower, looking around they saw a village off to the west, and it looked like a rumble was going on. It was far away, but they could see the heavy smoke coming from huge fires and even in a distance, they could hear rifles being fired.

US rifles.

A helicopter was soaring in the sky and both Kris and Kelly could spot one of those US Eagles from any distance. They had to get over there.

Kris begun to walk for the door as Kelly remembered the radio. Grabbing onto it she realized it was transmitting what was being said, and since he hadn't touched it since she arrived, a big knot quickly grew n her stomach.

"Kris."

Kris turned around towards Kelly, her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"What's on your mind Garrett?"

"He's been talking and screaming in his language the whole time. I thought it was to me, but now as I notice that the radio is transmitting, I'm wondering who is listening? I wonder if he's told anyone about me, about us?"

"Let's get out of here before we have to find out." Kris said, Kelly nodding to her, gesturing for Kris to go first down the stairs.

Kelly held her hand at Kris' lower back all the way down the stairs and as they reached the ground, Kelly found her beloved rifle again. Picking it up, Kris and Kelly quickly joined Jill and Sabrina.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked worriedly, sitting next to Jill as Jill was sitting up, drinking from a bottle with water.

"There was a man up there, we fought a little but Kris helped me out. We might have a problem though."

"What would that be?" Jill asked, looking up at Kelly and Kris with tired eyes. Kelly swallowed slightly as she met Jill's eyes.

The sparkle that always shined in her light green eyes were not there anymore.

"He's been transmitting through a radio, he might've asked for back up. I think we should get out." Kelly explained.

Sabrina nodded as she brushed her hands off, rising to her feet.

"Suggestions on what direction to take?"

"There's a town maybe a days walk away from here, it was far off but it was visible in the far distance. There were an eagle soaring over it and there's definitely a rumble going on.

"Fellow countrymen?" Jill asked, the first smile they had seen for weeks appeared on her face, her eyes remaining lifeless though.

"It sure looks like it." Kris said, sitting down next to her sister. "They will get us home."

.

_I'm so tired and turned around and scared._  
_ I'm lying in empty beds again._  
_ I'll wait for you to come_  
_ to your senses, barbed-wire fences_  
_ won't keep me from breaking through._  
_ I swear I will to you._


	16. Left to die

_**Another chapter for y'all! ... Sorry Ally ;D**_

**_Lyrics: Rise Against - Injection_  
**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 15 – Left to die**

_Do you spend your days counting the hours you're awake?_  
_ And when night covers the sky you find yourself doing the same_  
_ There's a burden you've been bearing in spite of all your prayers_  
_ There's a light turned off inside your heart_  
_ Can you remember what it's like to care?_

.

The gang quickly left the town behind, not wanting to be caught in any crossfire that could possibly appear if they stayed behind. Jill was lying down, but awake, and Kris walked close to Kelly just like she'd done before. Sabrina walked first, her senses tensed, just waiting for action. They soon came to a few standing buildings, but they were still far away from where all the rumble was going on. This place was burnt down and deserted as far as the angels could see.

Kris took off her helmet for a second and pulled her sleeve over her forehead, the sweat was streaming down, dripping into her eyes, and she felt nauseas and dizzy. She stopped for a second and put her hand against stony wall of the ruins, taking a few breaths to try and get her act together. Kris wiped the sweat away from her face again and looked up. Her eyes darted in through the window, and she heard herself gasp. The sight inside the ruins were making her heart tear and leaving her eyes moist.

"Kris, you okay?" Kelly said, turning her head when she noticed Kris was not right behind them. Jill and Sabrina turned their heads too, wondering where Kris disappeared.

Getting no answer from Kris, Kelly walked up to her side and put her hand onto her back, looking towards the sight Kris was staring at. Sabrina and Jill, who was walking with Sabrina's help at the moment, went up to Kris and Kelly too, looking inside through the broken windows of the ruins. All of them stared right into the eyes of five young children, skin a little darker and more sunburned than the four women, dark shaggy hair, the youngest probably not more than two or three years old, and the oldest not passed two digits. They were all huddled up together, holding onto each other as they stared up at the four women. There eyes were wide and bloodshot, tears streaming down their small cheeks.

Kelly was the first one to walk away, Sabrina followed her quickly. Jill tugged slightly at Kris' sleeve as she left, trying to get her sister to follow, but Kris wouldn't budge that easily.

"Guys, are we gonna leave them here? There's no food, there's no water, and it's over 120°, they are gonna die if we leave them here!"

"There's nothing we can do." Kelly said, beginning to walk away. Jill looked back over her shoulder towards her sister, knowing what she was thinking, but she knew Kelly was right. They couldn't bring the children with them. They would get killed immediately in battle.

"Kelly! We can't just leave them!" Kris screamed, standing by the ruins and her friends. "THEY WILL DIE!"

Kelly suddently turned around and stepped up to Kris, her eyes piercing her younger friend. It broke her heart too to have to leave them where they were, but there was no way they could bring the kids along.

"We are under jurisdiction – we can not interfere. Leave them." Kelly growled.

Kris stared her right into her eyes. This was a part of Kelly she had never seen before, and she felt like backing away. Kelly scared her shitless. She had never ever seen her friend act this way, so cold, so heartless with such raw power which Kris knew she would never get herself. She knew Kelly was right, of course, but leaving these kids behind in this territory… they didn't even stand a chance.

Kris swallowed hard, still staring into Kelly's eyes, before she turned around and went back to the kids. Kelly didn't let her go. Grabbing onto Kris' jacket, she violently threw her around, shoving her off towards Jill's and Sabrina's direction.

"Kelly get off from me!" Kris screamed trying to turn around and go back.

"NO!" Kelly snapped, throwing Kris forward, making her lose her balance and slam down into the ground. She twirled around, and stared at Kelly with hate and tears in her eyes as Kelly stood over her, reaching down a hand to help Kris up.

Kris didn't immediately accept it, they ended up again just staring each other dead into the eyes.

"Kris. I don't want to leave them, but we can't take them with us. They will be killed, we can't cover them and us at the same time. We are not allowed to interfere in things that are not our business, we're supposed to get this damn man and get out of here. Nothing else. That family is not part of our mission, and we will not be able to do our mission together with them. They will have to save themselves."

Kris wiped tears away with the back of her hand before she reached up and grabbed Kelly's hand, allowing Kelly to pull her to her feet. Kelly pulled her close into a hug and held her close as Kris cried into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to leave them either, but we have no choice Kris. You know that. You know that."

Kris nodded towards Kelly's shoulder before the two of them turned towards Sabrina and Jill, and the four of them kept moving on down the sandy road, Kelly with her arm draped around Kris' shoulder, and Bano and her boy, Arman, kept close behind them all. They all walked in silence, no one really knew what to say. The eyes of the children were stuck in their minds, and they hated the idea of leaving the kids behind. Walking lost in their own thoughts, they didn't hear the incoming sound at first.

The sound of a missile going through the air is like the sound of firework going the wrong direction – it's going towards you instead of up into the sky, and when it goes off, in difference from the fireworks that goes up into sparkling, beautiful and mesmerizing colors – a missile blows up everything around you. It can rip bodies into small parts and will leave nothing but dust and ash of whatever happened to be in its way.

Kelly was the first one to turn around, before she grabbed into Kris.

"Incoming!" She screamed, throwing herself and Kris down onto the ground, as Jill and Sabrina quickly tossed themselves down too, covering their heads by instinct.

The sound of buildings blowing up behind them was deafening, but even more so was the silence that followed. Kelly laid still on the ground, one hand on her head, one hand on Kris' back. Dust was sailing over her body, she could feel the dust get into her eyes, nudging her eyelashes, but she didn't care. She just laid still as the world seemed to stop moving for a second. Kris suddenly moved under her hand, and she turned her head and saw her younger friend twirl around, sit up and stare in horror, before unsteadily rising to her feet.

Kelly's brain suddenly kicked in and she realized what Kris was about to do. Sounds suddenly came back to Kelly's ears, and she sound of blazing fires and a screaming Kris Munroe hit her hard. As she turned around to look to where Kris was heading, she saw the ruins where they just had passed, the building with the small children, was nothing but ashes. Kelly knew those bombs, and she knew what type of scenery they left behind when people was hit by them.

The children burned to death was nothing she wanted to see, and especially it was nothing she wanted Kris to see. There would be nothing left of their small bodies, just black ashes to witness of the lives that had been there a few minutes ago.

Kris was making her way there already, but all Kelly needed was to take a couple of long leaps before she reached Kris. She grabbed onto Kris' wrists and turned her around. Kris was screaming and crying, shaking and choking, and Kelly moved around her hands and put them around Kris' waist to keep her upright. Walking back to Jill and Sabrina the two of them sat down and Kelly pulled Kris into a hug.

"Sssh, don't cry."

"They… they… killed them… We killed them…"

"We didn't kill them Kris, they did."

"We left them! If they were with us they would still be alive." Kris whispered through her tears.

"No. That missile didn't come more than 2 minutes after we left, and if we had stayed there and tried to get them to follow us, we would've most likely been killed too." Sabrina said, wiping her face with her sleeve.

Kelly held Kris hard as she cried against her shoulder, and Kelly softly kissed the top of Kris' head.

"They are at a better place now Kris. They are safe."

_The trail of crumbs you left somehow got lost along the way_  
_ If you never meant to leave then you only had to stay_  
_ But the memories that haunt us are cherished just the same_  
_ As the ones that bring us closer to the sky, no matter how grey_  
_ And yet I fall, through these clouds, reaching, screaming_

* * *

"Donny!"

All four woman turned their heads towards the right, where they spotted trees creating a wonderful shade to rest in. And in that shade, they could see the contours of seven men. The angels would've been worried unless one of them had called out the magical word, the two words working like the game "Marco Polo." Sabrina wasn't slow on answering.

"Marie!"

The men quickly hurried over to them, the angels meeting them halfway. The man reaching them first was one of the Sergeants, and Kelly sighed. It was one of the Sergeants she just couldn't stand, he was a scum that thought they had nothing to do here and Kelly didn't want to do anything but to punch him down.

"We got informed by the radio that some rough soldiers were hanging around sniper's playground and got the Afghans all pissed off and they're on there way. We're trying to head them off."

All four of them looked around among themselves, their eyebrows raised in questioning. They had gotten to the sniper's playground?

Woops.

"Well good. You go that way, we'll stay far away." Jill chipped in from behind them, making the other angels chuckle. Jill seemed to have lost her sparkle, but at times, it reappeared. A Munroe could never be serious for long.

"You wouldn't happen to be those soldiers... Yeah, no shit you are." The Sergeant said, looking over them. He slightly recognized them, but they looked nothing like they had done at the base. Back then they had been exhausted, for sure, but they had been fed, got decent sleep in their racks, water when they wanted and showers daily. Here, they looked like absolute wrecks.

Kelly sighed and explained everything that had happened, from the trucks blowing up to Kris getting shot, the explosion, the Bedouins, Jill's kidnapping, the meeting with Jahandar Farid and the death of Aamir Farid. The Sergeant was staring at her with a stunned look in his face as she finished, then he threw his hands out in the air and laughed out loud.

"No fuckin' way! You're the ones who got out? We've been searching for your asses for the last week."

"Don't you recognize us?" Kris asked, raising her eyebrow as she did.

"Well girls, if you don't mind me saying, you look like shit."

Kris was just about to open her mouth again when Kelly cut her off.

"What do you mean you've been searching for us?"

"The body count didn't add up when we got to the explosion sight, we realized you were missing. I've been hauling ass trying to locate you girls."

"Captains orders?"

"Yes, of course."

Kelly rolled her eyes, she knew this Sergeant for certain wouldn't go out and search for them unless he had been given strict orders too.

"The General got a call from some high rank man who told us very clearly that we had to track you down or there would be a hell lot of problems."

Kelly looked over at the others and they all nodded in agreement. Charlie. Definitely Charlie.

"Well, since we got you, we have to get back to the town over there, helping my men out. I'm not sure for how long they'll be able to hold the damn Afghans away."

"Let's move." Sabrina nodded, and the now bigger gang begun moving the same direction to where the angels had been walking earlier.

One of the men pulled up a pack of smokes and lit the cigarette, smiling to the girls he reached out his pack to them, offering them a smoke. Kelly took one of them, litting it.

"Kelly, you don't smoke, do you?" Kris asked in surprise, her eyebrows furred.

"No, but why not start?" Kelly grinned, enjoying the smoke going down into her lungs.

"Kelly, that will kill you." Kris said, trying to get the smoke away from Kelly, but Kelly shoved her away.

"This war will kill you faster than one of those." The man said who had offered the smoke to her, grinning as he walked up in front of them. Kris looked over at Kelly with annoyment in her eyes but Kelly didn't seem bothered at all. She needed some relief and she had a bad feeling in her gut that things were gonna go down, and they would be going down fast. When they walked away towards the village they could see in the distance, smoke rising high up into the air and the sounds of bombs, rifles and missiles going off, she knew they would be in trouble. She and Jill might've been to the army a few years ago, but they really didn't have much combat training such as this. The only plan she had was to make it out of there alive, and to make sure her friends did too.

"Do you know where Jahandar Farid is?" Kelly asked one of the men that they were walking with, and he looked over at her. Both his hands were holding his rifle, while a cigarette was dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"We have reason to believe he is in this town and we're hoping that when we leave this town, we will bring him with us."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Kelly nodded, before the gang once again walked in silence, towards the rumble, towards the burning town, none of them really knew what was coming for them, but all of them knew it would take everything they got to make it out of there alive. This was war, and what they were about could be face to face combat.

_Guide me through unchartered waters_  
_ Before we lose our way again_  
_ Will you be my compass until forever?_  
_ Until forever ends!_

_ Knees are weak, hands are shaking, I can't breathe_


	17. Let's end this before yesterday

**Sorry for slow updates, just had too much to do and not felt like writing. Maybe cause I really not that fond of writing action scenes, I don't feel that I'm good at writing them and they just got long and boring but I hope you'll like this anyway :) **

_Quoting a review: i'm still hung up on how Kelly re-acted to Kris's wanting to save the kids n how battle hardened she's become! Well, funny, we know that Kelly under normal circumstances would have been the 1st in there to get the kids out That's why I see you're almost re-writing the characters, because battle hardened human beings are themselves are almost re-written... so this is where i think you're coming from? I'd like to know what made you write CA in actual field combat?_

Answer /_putting it here for everyone to see_/: Yes, I might seem to be **rewriting** the characters a little - but that's just exactly what I'm getting at. I haven't been to war myself but I'm sure it changes you, changes everything about you all the way to your soul. I'm trying to show here what **angels in combat might be like**, what they would to do make sure they all survives and as the title says ("Always faithful") I'm trying to show that they would do **ANYTHING** to make sure everyone survived. **Kelly is in this story the one that's changed the most, but I think I safely can say that Kelly has a very dark side to her, that she only let's up in very strained times - like actual war. **

**And what made me write the angels in actual combat? **Well, I love combat movies, I love documentaries about it and I love history. Picturing the angels in the battlefield made my fingers itch and I thought it could be an awesome idea. Simple as that =D

_**Lyrics: Rise Against - Blood-red, White And Blue**_

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Let's end this before yesterday**

.

_So come test me, so come break me _  
_ So come on intoxicate me _  
_ With hands tied behind my back I fight _  
_ And wait for you to strike_

"What's the status private?"

A soldier turned around as his sergeant came up behind him, and he looked back at him for a few seconds before turning his head back towards the open space on the other side of the sandbags and razor wires. Had they been back at the camp, the private would've been yelled and cussed at for not standing in position, saluting as he entered, but here, raising to his feet could easily getting him killed.

The angels and the guys all hid behind the sand bags, looking over the scene playing out in front of them. The village was for the moment calm, but all of them knew this was the just the eye of the storm, it was calming down for a second before hell would break out again. They were all just waiting for it. Kelly eyes darted up above the sandbags, her helmet on just in case as she looked out over the sandbags.

The village was calm, quiet and looked deserted at the first sight, but when she squinted her eyes she saw the American soldiers were squattered out over the open place between the half-standing buildings in front of them. The soldiers had dug themselves down into bunkers, their army clothes camouflaging them into the sand, making them disappear, to make sure the enemies couldn't see them. The dust was settling above them, the air was thick from the sand and it was making it not only hard to see anything, but also very hard to breathe. Kelly could see the soldiers right underneath the cloud of sand was breathing into the sleeves of their jackets. Kelly could also see that the people in the middle were surrounded by the Afghans, their black hair or helmets were sticking up here and there as they were checking the place over. In between them were both Afghan soldiers and American soldiers, some of them already dead, some of the bleeding out in the sand.

"They are everywhere, completely surrounded us at three directions. We've estimated them to approximately 50 men, they've been shooting heavily the last hour so hopefully they have less ammo than us." The soldier answered to the Sergeant who nodded.

"Maybe they will run out of ammo soon?" Kris said hopefully, lying close to Kelly on the sandy ground.

"They won't. They have enough, don't underestimate them." Kelly said, her voice so dark that it gave Kris chills. "We need to do something. We need to get them out so we can shoot them down."

"And how the hell do you suppose we do that?" The Sergeant said as he turned his face to Kelly, staring her dead into her eyes.

"Do we have any grenades left?"

"Yes, why?"

"Prepare your aim, finger on the trigger."

* * *

A couple of minutes later, all American soldiers were lying prepared in the dirt, their eyes into the aim of their rifles and their fingers shaking towards the trigger as their tensed muscles were getting sore. Kelly had gotten two grenades and she didn't waste any time.

"Dolly!" She shouted – the launch codeword to get all the American's attention, before ripping the first grenade open and she threw it with a strong arm straight in through a window in one of the buildings. Before it had even gone off, she bit the other grenade open with her teeth and threw it in through a window into a building on the other side of the village. In the matter of seconds, the two buildings went up into loud explosions and Kelly threw herself down onto her stomach as large pieces of debris and burning logs came flying in every direction. Kelly instinctively put one hand on top of Kris' head, in the same time as she covered her own.

The second the biggest pieces of debris had fallen, everything went off into absolute chaos. People were running screamingly out of the buildings, their bodies covered in bright orange flames, their arms flailing and their feet stumbling over the earth as they tried to escape the heat that was just burning them alive. The second they emerged from the buildings though, the American soldiers were prepared, and shot them all down before they even had time to react. All the bodies, coming out screaming from the both buildings, landed on top and underneath each other in a burning and bleeding pile in the sand, as the other around them, from both nations, were just staring at the scene in front of them. The sight was horrible, it was like it was taken straight out from a horror movie and no one could help but to be affected by the sight playing out between the two countries.

As everything cooled down, the Afghans didn't waste a second. Their screams roared through the village as they ran towards the American's, the two parties colliding before the American's had time to reload their guns from the previous shooting. The collision was ear deafening and no one in the back line stopped for a second's thought before they ran up to their fellow men, helping them out in the face to face combat.

The angels looked at each other, Sabrina and Kelly nodding to each other before looking towards the sisters.

"Stay. Take care of each other." Kelly said to the two of them, before both Sabrina and Kelly turned towards the major battle, running out with their weapons raised. Kelly held her gun in one hand, the khanjar in the other hand, and with skilled moves she fought everyone getting towards her off. A man came roaring towards her from her front, a rifle raised towards her. Kelly held up her khanjar and slammed it around the rifle, managing to point it another direction in the same time as the man fired, hitting one of his fellow men as Kelly had changed his aim. With the rifle in Kelly's hand, she quickly knocked the man out of balance, kicking him into the abdomen she sent him flying into another man, the two of them falling to the ground.

People were coming from every direction and Kelly knew it was everyone for themselves, if you looked away to see what your friends were up to, someone would jump you from behind and shoot your head off. Kelly didn't have time for that as she fought people coming at her all the time. Both her hands worked non stop, she fired her rifle, she slit people's throats with her sharp knife and she kicked them off with her strong leg muscles.

.

_A new problem we cannot stop them_  
_ We're outnumbered and uncautioned_  
_ A rally cry rings out into the night_

.

Getting a second to breathe, she looked around. Sabrina was close to her, fighting best she could to keep herself alive, and on her other side was the Sergeant. Seeing he was having trouble, Kelly rushed up to him, grabbed one of the Afghans that were attacking him from behind. Kelly pulled her arm around his neck, pulling him back as she took the khanjar and slit his throat open. The sergeant twirled around and looked at her with big eyes for a second before nodding in gratefulness.

"They are too many!" Kelly screamed, kicking backwards as she could see in her peripheral vision, grabbing another man by his arm and flipping him over her shoulder, kicking him down to the ground before looking up at the sergeant again.

"Any ideas?" The sergeant screamed back, and Kelly could feel herself boil inside. This man was supposed to be in charge, he was supposed to help them all out of this but he was standing here stunned wondering what happened, not even having an idea of how to get his men out of here alive. Instead, he was asking her, a woman, without more that the basic military training, if she had any ideas.

Luckily for him, Kelly was a clever woman.

"Let's stop this shit! Let's burn them all down." Kelly roared, still fighting people off, getting angrier by the second as she looked around. She could tell one of the buildings were more secure than the others, and she could see people moving inside of it.

Headquarters.

"We can't burn them all down, that is not our right to do!" The sergeant called back angrily towards her, grabbing her arm as he did. Kelly snatched her arm back and glared angrily at him.

"Then we will all die and I won't have that, I refuse to let my friends die here!"

"But the politics.."

"Screw politics! By the time the first bullet went through my ear, by the time my friend were shot and when my other friend got tortured, politics went right out of the window! There are no fucking laws here! Kill or get killed, and I want to go home to my daughter!"

"You are not in charge here!"

"Someone has to be! You certainly don't seem to handle this well, and I guess it's true then! You call yourself a sergeant but all you learn at the military school is nothing but good manner! You're not a leader! Let me do something, or get killed!"

"You can't kill them all, there are no way!"

"We're stronger than them, we're more powerful than them! The difference is that they don't play by a rulebook, we do! If we don't toss that rulebook out NOW, they will win! If we play their game, we will crush them to the very core and you know it. Let's end this damn war before yesterday."

"Tell me what you're thinking." The sergeant said, looking into Kelly's eyes. He knew she was better at this than him, even though he was boiling out of anger on the inside.

"We can't stop them all. We need a diversion!" Kelly screamed as the cracking over her head was growing louder, the people screaming was making her dizzy and the sound of all the rifles going off and the screams of people dying on the ground was getting too much to bear.

"Have any plans?" The Sergeant called back to her, in the same time as he knocked an Afghan over using his rifle. He was long out of bullets and were now protecting himself with anything he had.

"Let's try to get them all into a building and then just set it on fire!"

"How are you gonna get everyone in there!"

"I don't know yet!"

Kelly ran away from the Sergeant, over to where Kris was standing by the bunker, trying to keep out of the major fight and in the same time protecting her sister who was not really fit for fight yet. Kelly grabbed a grenade from the ground and handed it to Kris.

"Kris, when everyone is inside the building, I want you to throw this in through the window. We need to get them all in there, and I think I know how to make it. But I can't do everything myself, when the last man runs inside I want you to throw that inside." Kelly said, giving the grenade to Kris, she put her hands onto Kris' cheeks, looking her into her eyes.

"What about you?" Kris asked, looking at her with a frightened look, wondering what Kelly was up to, what her plans were. Kris stared into Kelly's eyes, the green fields that seemed black in this lighting. They spoke the story, they told Kris everything. Kelly was scared. Scared, but determined.

"It's okay Kris. Throw it. Promise me that you will throw it. Don't worry about me, it's okay if I die. We need to save everyone else."

"Kelly, it's not okay!"

"Kris." Kelly said gently as she grabbed onto Kris' free hand, the one not holding the powerful grenade. "It's okay."

Before saying another word, Kelly took off, running towards the buildings. Since it was the Afghans head quarters, many of the Afghans yelled at her as she entered, and they ran after her as she went into their territory. Kelly smiled as they followed her, they were getting straight into the trap, and she just prayed that Kris would follow her instructions and actually throw the grenade as she had told her too. Kelly knew Kris would hesitate as long as she was in the building, but Kelly knew she needed to get everyone in and kill them as they were inside. If Kris didn't throw the grenade, they would probably all be killed.

As Kelly came inside, she saw that she really did had run straight into the headquarters. Jahandar Farid was standing by a table, screaming and arguing with another man in a language Kelly couldn't understand, and as he saw Kelly coming running inside, he immediately stopped and stared at her with confusion in his eyes. He furred his dark and big eyebrows, before he pointed at her and screamed to his men.

Kelly's eyes darted around, she needed an escape route, and people were welling in behind her, everyone prepared to save their bosses life, not caring if their own life was lost in the battle. It only took a few seconds to fill the room up, and Kelly knew it was now or never.

"THROW IT KRIS!" Kelly roared as she ran past the window, she could see the figure of Kris outside, and in the same time as Kelly jumped up onto a ladder leading to the roof, she could see the grenade coming flying in through the window, landing on the floor in the middle of all the men who were screaming, fighting and trying to catch Kelly, in the same time as they were wondering what the hell she was doing. Kelly didn't have time to look at them, she had seen the grenade coming in and that was enough cue for her to get out as fast as she could. Grabbing the ladder she pretty much pulled herself up with her strong arms, and before she knew it she slammed the lid up and jumped up onto the roof. Knowing the roof would probably collapse under her feet any second, she looked around, seeing another roof nearby and she started running, but just as she were about to jump, she knew there were no way she would be able to get over to the other side, to the other roof. It was just too far away.

Not having the time to think for another second, she felt the roof disappear under her feet as the building went up into a powerful burning inferno.

.

_What did you have to say? _  
_ Give me your logic, your definition _  
_ The words you twist to justify your position _  
_ Of mass starvation and blind airstrikes_  
_ Every problem is solved with a fight_

_.  
_

* * *

Fire was cracking over her head, the heat was burning the clothes off her back. The intense pain were burning the skin off her flesh in her face and she felt like screaming, but the smoke forced her air back down into her lungs. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't scream. He was coming after her, and she turned around and fired her rifle, again, again and again. She could see that the man was screaming as he fell back into the flames, but she couldn't hear it. The sound of the rumbling fire from the grenade were taking over all other sounds, and she had to get out. Kelly climbed the last piece of the stair and got up onto the roof, where she was safe from the flames licking the walls of the stone house. A house that had been the same color as the sand earlier, the light almost white sand, was now black from ashes and grime, and red from the streaming blood.

Once again she grabbed onto a ladder, planning to get out of the window since there were no way she could get out of any doors without burning to death. She could see a window towards the back of the building and she grabbed the ladder to climb her way there. Her body was aching, but she just had to get out, she just had to. Climbing, she was shaking and her legs were so tired, she missed several steps on the ladder and almost fell several times, but she was getting closer to the window.

She whipped her head around and saw the silhouette of a man's body down among the flames. Not only one man either, there were over 40 people burning to death below her, and she wondered how she could've been so lucky to manage to get out in time. She knew someone had to be watching over her. She had been on the roof, but fallen straight down into the building as the roof collapsed. The men underneath her had taken most of the blow, but she was sore and aching absolutely everywhere from falling and landing among all the concrete. Now the fire was hot and shooting up, and she knew she had to get up or get burned to death.

It didn't take all too long before she managed to get out, and as she reached the window, she managed to jump onto a lower building's roof without killing herself. She put her glove covered hand towards her nose, the smell was suddenly rising through the air along with the heavy smoke. The smell of flesh being burned made her suddenly stumble away from the edge of the building, fall down onto her knees at retch violently.

She stumbled to her feet, knowing her friends were somewhere she ran across the flat roof top, getting to the edge she stopped and looked down. Her friends had to be somewhere, but she had no more sense of direction, she didn't know at which way she were supposed to flee. She was about two floors up from the sand covered ground, when she suddenly heard that sound she had come familiar with the last time. It sounded like a firework – the only difference were that it was going the wrong direction. It was coming straight towards you instead of going up into the air, and instead of going off in beautiful colors and sparkling lights, it blew up everything in it's path, buildings, vehicles and all living things.

The sound of a missile coming towards you.

Kelly sent out a long string of unpretty and well chosen words as she saw no other way out than to get off the building and run. Getting off the building was easy, but she wondered how far she would be able to run after jumping two floors down. Looking back, she saw the missile coming through the sky and she knew she had would find out sooner or later just how far she would get. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and jumped.

.

_Peace won't be found _  
_ Till we're underground _  
_ As long as we live without a sound_


	18. Emerging from the shade

**_Thanks for all the reviews guys! I managed to finish this quickly so here you go! :D _**

**_Lyrics: Rise Against - Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Emerging from the shade  
**

_When I die, will they remember not  
What I did, but what I haven't done?  
It's not the end that I fear with each breath  
It's life that scares me to death._

_**.  
**_

"Wow Kelly, what happened to you over there?" Sandra said quietly as Kelly had taken a break as Jill had once again bent over as a contraction hit her. The contractions were getting closer and a lot more powerful, and with that, Peggy Lou was getting very excited while Jill was beginning to get scared. Everyone kept an eye on the watch, and Damien had already been up to make sure everything was taken care of so that they could leave when they needed.

Kelly looked over to Sandra as she nodded. She was leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees, her hands put together and her head resting towards it. Everyone could tell how hard this had been on her, and they were all amazed at what she'd done.

"I did what I had to do to make it back here, to my family and get everyone I loved back safely. We were outnumbered and we needed to throw them off balance. I did what was necessary."

"You could've been killed." Kamili said with big eyes as she looked over at Kelly too, observing her in awe.

"I was willing to take that chance, I was willing to risk my life to save everyone else."

"We thought she died." Kris said, looking up at Kelly with tears in her eyes as the memories were coming rushing back.

"You obviously don't know me very well." Kelly smiled as she looked up at everyone. "I won't die that easily."

* * *

After the major explosion from the grenade, and the missile that had been launched up from a nearby mountain by American forces, everything was settling down. The last remaining Afghans surrendered, but was brutally shot down by the Americans. Most of the Americans had gathered up in the middle of everything, the Sergeant in the front as they all stared towards the burning building. Everyone was standing in silence, not knowing what to say as they thought of the brave woman who had rushed inside to lure everyone behind enemy lines in after her.

Some people took off their helmets, saluting towards the buildings. Was there any way she could've survived that? Not really. The about 50 men who were standing there saluted in union towards the brave woman who had saved their lives. They were all sore, they were all tired and wounded, but they were alive and they all knew they had her to thank for it.

Kris, Jill and Sabrina were all standing up close to the buildings, watching with big eyes how the flames spread through the village, the sound of the cracking from the fire was the only sound there. The angels were all crying, tears were silently falling down their eyes, none of them said a word. Jill was leaning against some stapled sandbags, slowly sinking down into sitting position as the shock was taking over her, her legs wobbling as she tried not to pass out.

Kris suddenly broke down into a loud, high-pitch, heartbreaking wail, Sabrina turning around and grabbing onto her, trying to turn her away from it, trying to make her not watch. But there were no use, Kris refused to leave the spot in front of the collapsed buildings, and she managed to push Sabrina away and break free.

"Kris, don't look, let it be." Sabrina whispered, devastated by just having lost one of her best friends, but knowing someone had to get control over the situation.

"Don't touch me!" Kris screamed, pushing Sabrina away, backing away from her. "I killed her!"

.

_Your words won't save me now.  
I'm at the edge feeling the sweat drip from my brow.  
"Get a grip on yourself" is what they say,  
Every hour, every day._

.

Kris screamed as she turned around towards the buildings, walking on unsteady legs towards it, then kneeling as she got closer.

"I killed her!" Kris screamed again, leaning forwards she buried her face into her hands as she cried a gut wrenching wail of agony.

The sergeant had removed his helmet, saluted towards the burning inferno and was now wiping the sweat off from his forehead with his sleeve. Just as everyone else, he seemed to be in absolute shock, and as he slowly recovered, he turned towards Sabrina.

"She's a hero. This… this will not be forgotten. She saved our lives. She saved the future."

* * *

"Oh I ain't fallin for that again! Y'all fooled me once, but not again! She's right thar!" Peggy laughed, pointing at Kelly as Kris was telling the story. Everyone rolled their eyes as Aurore shoved her sister, Peggy flailing as she lost balance for a second and she managed to hit a lamp behind her. It fell into the ground and broke into several pieces, even thought Peggy Lou seemed completely oblivious to it.

"Pegs, be quiet. We all know Kelly survived, but it's the journey we're curious about! How did she survive? How did she get there?"

"Oh, how did she?" Peggy Lou said, looking at her sister with big eyes.

"I don't know but if you zip your mouth we might be able to find out." Aurore said with a big grin in her face, patting Peggy Lou's head as Peggy turned towards Kris, begging for her to keep going with the story.

* * *

Sabrina just nodded, before turning her eyes back towards the flames. The fire was still roaming, high flames shooting up into the air, making the air fume with heat. The thick dark smoke was sailing up into the high air, creating clouds and shapes as it went straight upwards. The dusk was settling down, the sun had moved to ground level at the west, making everything sparkle in a golden shimmer, creating big shadows and shades everywhere.

"Guys?"

Everyone looked up as one man in the big team had whispered that one single word. One word, not meaning anything really, but the way he had said it made everyone react. He had spoken like if he'd seen a ghost. Everyone turned to him, but as they noticed he was pointing, they instantly followed his index finger, seeing where it pointed, and then looking towards the hot smoke in between the buildings.

A loud gasp went right through the entire gang of people as a silhouette appeared, a silhouette of a human body, walking, staggering, limping, through the flames and the smoke. If the _Lion King_ had been invented back then, the _'King of Pride Rock_' would've played at this precise moment, they could almost hear the keys of the piano playing louder and louder as Kelly became visible, emerging from the smoke, the flames licking her back.

"Oh holy shit." The sergeant breathed, being the only one who even dared to separate his lips. Everyone else was just staring in plain shock.

With the angel came the rain. The lifegiving blood to the bushes and trees, the cool splatter from the sky as the clouds begun crying, both for the loss of the thousands of dead souls that had been wasted on this war, but also from relief that this battle was finally over.

As the rain washed over her, Kelly stopped and turned her face upwards, facing the rain, letting it hit her sore and bruised face with its drips and drops. It instantly drowned her completely in its cool cover of water, soaking in through her clothes and cooling her off down to her skin. Kelly closed her eyes, letting the rain wash her off, wash her sins off, wash the blood off her hands and body and wash the ache off. She thanked a higher power that she was still alive and she prayed that she would be able to get home now. Home to her bed, home to a hot bath and home to her beautiful daughter.

.

_When we built these dreams on sand  
How they all slipped through our hands  
This might be our only chance  
Let's take this one day at a time  
I'll hold your hand if you hold mine  
The time that we kill keeps us alive._

.

The adrenaline dropping and the pain and shock taking over, Kelly fell to her knees, sitting down in the sand. Jill was the first one up to her, limping badly and even though her hands and arms were giving her a lot of pain and discomfort, she didn't hesitate on throwing her arms around Kelly, hugging her closely. Kelly winced badly as she did, but Jill didn't care. She was just so happy to see her, so happy that she was crying and laughing at the same time.

"Kelly you're alright! Kelly, I hate you! Why did you do that! But you're okay! Aww! But you are so stupid!" Jill cried out as she was hugging and hitting Kelly at the same time, all emotions washing over her at the same fast speed as the water from above was drowning her.

Sabrina and Kris hurried to Kelly's side too, the Sergeant following them up, all of them sitting down around Kelly. Sabrina pulled Jill away from her as she put a hand on Kelly's cheek, turning her face to meet her eyes.

"Kelly? Are you okay?"

Kelly looked at Sabrina, then let out a small laugh as she exhaled painfully, before shaking her head.

"No, I'm not."

Sabrina looked down at her body, seeing her body being black, covered in dust and smoke, dried and wet blood and scars and abrasions. Her breathing was very labored and she coughed painfully, her clothes were pretty much burned off from her body, and she was clutching hard to her left elbow with her right hand. Sabrina looked the shoulder over and Kelly winced badly and gasped in pain as she did. Sabrina winced too, moving away the left overs of Kelly's jacket she brushed her hand over Kelly's back, and Kelly cried out in pain as Sabrina's hand gently touched her shoulder blades and upper back.

"I'm sorry." Sabrina said as she swallowed hard, her eyes and hands kept trailing down Kelly's body. She jerked slightly as Sabrina touched her hip, and then again as she came down to her knee and left leg. Her entire left side seemed to be hurt, Sabrina coming to the conclusion that whatever happened, if she fell, jumped or hit something, her left side got the worst of it. Her knee was swollen and discolored along with her ankle, hip and ribs.

"Geez Kelly, we need to get you home."

"Yes please." Kelly said with a smile as she coughed, wincing badly as she did. "I want to go home."

* * *

"Kelly, how did you make it out of there alive?"

Kelly looked up at Kamili, by now she had taken over the story again and was telling it from her point of view. She smirked to Kamili, putting her head to its side.

"Death saw me and ran away."

* * *

"The night is coming. Let's make shelter from the rain and stay here for the night. Jahandar was inside. He's dead. We'll head back to base in the morning." The sergeant said, looking over towards Kelly, wondering if she could confirm it.

As on a cue, Kelly looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, Jahandar Farid was inside. I saw him, and he's no more."

"Finally." Sergeant said, nodding to her.

"Kelly, how did you get out?" Kris said, the first words she'd spoken since she had seen Kelly emerge from the smoke, being too scared to talk, but seeing Kelly obviously alive, her heart had begun calming down.

"I jumped from the roof, tucked and rolled." Kelly said lightly, sending Kris a small smile, as Sabrina had gotten some fabric from one of the guys, making a sling for Kelly's shoulder to keep it as still as possible. Sabrina and Kris then both grabbed onto Kelly and helped her to stand up, Kelly being unsteady on her legs, shaking and trembling, but managing to stand up with help. She stopped as she got up into standing position, looking at the sergeant whom was standing in front of her, looking at her with powerful eyes that Kelly had trouble reading. One of the corners of his mouth flicked upwards, and Kelly could just guess it had been a one-second-smile there.

"You're a hero." The sergeant said before nodding to her. "Let's get you into shelter, and everyone else for that matter. As soon as the fire has cooled down, which it will fast with this rain, we'll go in and make sure Jahandar's dead body is in there. You go and lay down somewhere, all four of you. I bet you're exhausted, and now this is over. We'll all be watching over you during the night. Get some good sleep. We'll get back to base in the morning. We're about 4 or 5 days walk from there, so get some good rest. You'll need it."

Kelly nodded as Sabrina and Kris begun walking away with her, Jill following them limping behind.

"I think the sergeant just praised you." Sabrina giggled quietly, making Kelly let out a small giggle too before wincing badly.

"Well, a hero never really dies so…" Kelly giggled.

"You got that right." Sabrina grinned as she and Kris helped Kelly into one of the buildings, far away from the burning building. It was as free from the smoke as could be, and it was another deserted house like many of the others they had seen. It had ragged, but soft beds with pillows and covers. Sabrina and Kris helped Kelly to lie down, and she fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Kris stayed next to her, sitting down in the bed, just sitting there and observing her, so very happy that she was still breathing and alive.

Sabrina helped Jill inside and lying down, before walking over to Kris and Kelly.

"Kris, you should get some sleep too. She will be fine. We'll be home soon, we _will_ be home soon. The worst part is over."

"I hope so Bri, I really hope so, but what if it's not? We might've killed both Farid's, but what if there are more big groups we'll run into? What if they attack us now? We're not going to be able to protect ourselves anymore."

"Kris, don't worry. No one will be so stupid that they'll attack tonight and all these guys out there are so grateful that they will sleep in shifts. If anything would happen, they would shoot them down before you even had time to wake up. Lay down sweetie. I'm gonna go outside and check on Bano and Arman, then I'll be in here too and get some sleep. Lay down. Close your eyes."

Kris nodded, rolling down onto a mattress next to Kelly's bed. Letting her head hit the soft pillow and pulling the cover over her very sore body, she fell asleep faster than she'd imagined. Sabrina checked over all her friends before walking outside, finding the two camels at the back of the village. Arman was sleeping as his mother protectively stood raised over him, looking around for any sign of danger. Seeing Sabrina she calmed down and took her head down. Sabrina brushed the big animal's head, smiling to her as she talked to her quietly.

"It's over sweetie. It's all over. Oh God, I hope it's over."


	19. Walking down memory lane

_**Lyrics: Rise against - Halfway There**_

* * *

**Chapter 18 - Walking down memory lane  
**

_Is this the point where we give up?_  
_ Now is this the point where we give in?_  
_ Now is this the point where we turn ourselves in?_

_Or is this the time to ask questions?_  
_ Or is this the time to seek answers?_  
_ Now is this the time to throw it all in?_

_When enough is enough that's when  
you know that you're halfway there_

"Kelly? How are you doing?"

Kelly slowly opened one eye as she heard a sweet voice next to her, but she quickly shut it and inhaled sharply. Her entire body hurt, everything was aching, and she inhaled deeply over and over to make sure she didn't pass out from the pain. She stayed still for a bit, feeling a soft hand being brushed up and down her back, she slowly forced the pain away and opened her eyes. She immediately met Kris' worried eyes as Kris was having Kelly in her lap.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I fell 15 feet from a stone building that was on fire until I hit the ground."

"Is that what happened?"

"No, an airplane hit me."

Kris raised her eyebrows as she questioned Kelly, and Kelly sighed and inhaled again.

"Yes, that's what happened. I heard the missile and I just jumped, tried to tuck and roll but obviously I didn't do too good."

"At least you're alive. We're all alive."

"That's everything that matters." Kelly whispered as she moved slightly in Kris' lap, enjoying just laying there, not having to do anything at this precise moment. She could just inhale the smell of Kris, watch her look down upon her and feel the back of her hand towards her cheek as Kris gently brushed it, worried about her hero.

The resting came to an abrupt stop though when the Sergeant shoved his head inside the room.

"Up and let's go! The sun is up, we'll start heading back."

Just as quickly as he'd arrived, he disappeared and Kelly grunted at his comment, starting to sit up.

"Easy Kelly, easy." Kris said, helping Kelly up into sitting position, then up to standing. Kelly wheezed as she got up, closing her eyes hard. She was definitely in a lot of pain, Kris could easily see that. "Lean on me Kelly."

Kelly didn't need to be told twice as she limped outside, putting some of her weight off her hurt side, but not wanting to put too much weight onto Kris. Kris had been shot and her shoulder blade was giving Kris just as much pain as Kelly's was at the moment. As they got outside, Sabrina hurried over to her side and took the weight off from Kris, letting Kelly lean on her side instead.

"Geez, I can walk four steps of my own." Kelly said, rolling her eyes, even though she was grateful for the help and the concern from her friends. It felt good to be loved, Kelly couldn't deny that.

"Your chariot awaits, princess." Jill giggled as she was leaning towards one of the buildings, a big grin in her face as she fought to keep her weight off her hip, rocking unbalanced. Kelly looked forward and saw Bano and Arman in front of her. Bano was lying down, and Kelly eased herself up between the humps, smiling gratefully as Bano rose to her full height, Kelly holding onto the hump carefully, not wanting to cause too much pain on her upper back.

"I don't exactly look like Cinderella at the moment." Kelly smiled, rolling her eyes as she tried to get comfortable.

"Cinderella wouldn't look nearly as good during a war." Kris grinned, shoving Bano slightly to get her to her full height.

The gang began moving, the 20-ish military men that were still alive, the Sergeant, the angels and the two camels. Bano was still pulling the bed, with one of the many wounded soldiers on top of it. One of the few who's life could still be saved. Everyone was tired, but everyone knew they were on their way back to base and that helped their feet to speed up the pace. The Sergeant had gone into the burned down building and made sure that Jahandar had been killed, and everyone had been very pleased to hear that he was intact, very, very dead.

As Kelly rested her head towards Bano's front hump, she closed her eyes and thought of a happier place, a happier time, not too long ago. Her daughter appeared in front of her eyes, her wonderful little girl that she had adopted not many months ago.

* * *

"Kris? Ella? Where are you?" Kelly called out as she walked inside the big clothing store, her hands filled with pretty clothes for her daughter to try on. Kris and Ella had quickly disappeared and Kelly couldn't see them anywhere, even though she could guess where they were at.

Her suspicions were proven to be accurate as she walked into the little girl aisle and found Kris and Ella in the middle of it. Kris was holding onto a little princess outfit, squealing as she held it up.

"It's so cuuute!"

"Me not want that! Me want this!" Ella smiled happily as she held up a costume, and Kelly put her head aside as she walked up towards them, trying to see what her daughter was holding onto.

"Tigger Ella? A Tigger costume? Well. If they have Eeyore, we'll get your mommy one so you two can match."

"Don't even think about it Kris." Kelly laughed as she came up to them, hunching down next to her daughter as she held up the Tigger costume. It was adorable. "We will get this."

"Mama, you be Winnie Pooh!" Ella laughed, looking up at Kris who just smiled as she still looked through the princess outfit.

"Ella, sweetheart, that's Aunt Kris." Kelly said, brushing her daughters back as she looked up towards Kris.

"She looks like a mama."

"She does?" Kelly questioned with a small chuckle, not really understanding what her five year old meant.

"She looks like my old mommy."

Kelly wasn't sure how to respond at that line immediately, but Kris, soft as always threw herself down and pulled Ella up in her arms, giving her a giant hug as she rubbed Ella's head against her face, sniffing as she did.

"Aw, don't worry baby! I can always be your mother too!"

"Kris, don't make a scene." Kelly said, rolling her eyes as people were looking at them as Kris was hugging Ella with all her might, and Kelly standing there next to them holding a big bunch of clothes, including a Tigger costume.

That night, Kelly had been in the living room, sitting in the couch and going over some paperwork from the latest case where Kelly and Kris had been running the Twilliger's Marathon along with Helga and lots of other very distinctive characters.

Her legs were still sore from the race and she did enjoy sitting down in the couch for a while. She did know though that they had several days of paper work in the office that they would sit down and do together with Bosley, and she was pleased that she would be able to sit down in the couches for days. Paper work was dull, but for this once, her muscles were so sore that she was actually looking forward to it.

She looked up when she heard the soft thumping from paws, and looking over her shoulder she saw her daughter, dressed in the Tigger costume they had bought earlier today. Kelly had told Ella that she could use it at home how much she wanted, but for school she was not allowed to wear it.

Normally, Kelly would've smiled at the scene in front of her, her baby girl walking inside dressed as Tigger, holding onto her ragdoll Holly in her hands, but not now. Kelly could feel her stomach cramping as she saw the tears sliding down her daughters cheeks, and Ella's lower lip trembling as she clung onto her doll for all she was worth. Kelly immediately stood up and walked up to her daughter, grabbing her she went back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Kelly said gently, brushing the tears away from her daughter's face with her thumbs. Ella was sitting quietly except from the occasional sobs, fingering at her doll. Kelly gently touched the doll a little, looking over the old and ragged doll. It reminded her so much of LillyBeth.

"Who gave you the doll?"

"Sister Mary Joanna." Ella said carefully, and Kelly couldn't help but to smile. Mary Joanna had given her LillyBeth, and it was the same nun that had named both of the persons in this bed to Kelly.

"She is a lovely woman." Kelly smiled as she reached over and brushed her daughter's head, pulling her closer.

"She read me stories before I sleep." Ella said as she leaned into her mother's lap, tears still streaming down her face. Kelly could feel her heart ache as she had the little girl sobbing in her lap. Wasn't she happy here?

"Me too." Kelly smiled, still brushing Ella's hair. "What is the matter honey?"

Ella was quiet for a few seconds before closing her eyes.

"I don't remember what she looked like."

"Mary Joanna?" Kelly asked gently, not really following her daughter's mind and thoughts.

"My first mama. I... I don't remember her anymore. I am forgetting her."

Reality hit Kelly like a crashing wave and she instantly pulled her daughter closer. Kelly knew Ella was still not all that used to be out of the orphanage, and Mary Joanna had told Kelly that Ella hadn't been there very long. She had been picked up by the police and brought to the orphanage when she was three years old, been found wandering the streets alone, crying and panicking. She had told the police that her mother had just left her side for a second and that she would return, and the police had brought her to the orphanage while trying to locate her mother.

They had never found her, and she had never went to the orphanage to look for her little girl. Ella had been so depressed and she hadn't spoken to anyone in almost a year, and for that the nuns hadn't known her real name, and named her Kelly Ella Martin. It had taken a long time for Ella to put her trust in Mary Joanna, the nun she liked the most, and Kelly knew it would take a lot of love before Ella would put all her faith in Kelly.

But Kelly was more than willing to work on it.

"Ma- Aunt Kris, I know she looks like my old mommy. Really shiny gold hair like hers. But you... you feel like her. When I hug you, you feel like my mommy."

"Aw, sweetheart. I might not be the mother you first knew, but now, and forever more I will always be your mother. I will be there to tuck you in at night, make you food, help with your homeworks, chase away evil boys and protect you in every way I can and even in some ways I maybe don't think I can. I'd do anything for you honey, and I already love you with all my heart, and that's a place that is locked and sealed."

"Do you… think I will forget my first mama?"

"You will never forget her baby. After a while, especially in your young age, faces and memories tend to disappear, but even if you don't remember what your mother looked like, you will always keep the memories locked into your heart. If you think really heard of the memory, her face will appear automatically. Sometimes we need to put ourselves and the people we love into a situation to be able to see their faces, but you will always remember them."

"I will always remember you."

"I will always be right here."

* * *

"A true soldier would walk no matter the condition of his body."

Kelly jerked her head up as she felt someone nudge her injured leg, and she looked down with fire in her eyes at the Sergeant passing her. She felt like kicking him in the back of his head from making that comment, but her leg hurt too bad for her to actually have the energy to do it. The Sergeant kept marching in good tempo, the angels all rolling their eyes at him as he passed them. No matter what he said, they all knew they had gone through this time with a good amount of dash at their fingertips. They were all proud of themselves for actually surviving it all.

The scrambling and jingling from all the dog tags that Kelly kept in a bag in her waistband was a constant reminder of all the brave people that had not been as lucky as themselves. Kelly felt emotions drain her as she thought of all the lost lives, the parents losing their sons, the wives losing their husbands, siblings losing their brothers, and the children losing their dads. It was not fair, and Kelly felt like spitting on the ground she was walking on, spitting on the world that they live in. How could humans do all of this to each other?

* * *

"Oh shit."

Kelly stopped talking as Jill once again bent over in pain, she was up walking and she stopped and leaned against Damien who held her upright in strong arms.

"You're doing great honey, you're doing great. Breathe through it."

"Why is Andrew doing this to me?" Jill wheezed, her eyes shut hard as she fought through the contraction.

"He wants to see the world Jill." Kris said, standing up next to her sister, her hand on Jill's back. "Before you know it he will be out and he can't hurt you anymore, well, at least not like this. You just gotta get through it and then you'll have your baby boy in your arms."

Jill leaned her head against Damien's chest, exhaling as the contraction passed. Her legs were shaking and Damien held her harder to make sure she didn't fall.

"I need… to sit down…" Jill whispered, and Damien nodded as he led her over to the couch, where Jill and Damien slid down next to each other, Jill still leaning against her man. Damien looked up at Kelly, who had been watching the clock.

"10 minutes, kinda, apart. We'll be heading to the hospital soon."

"Shouldn't we go there now? What if the baby comes out on the way? What if there's traffic? What if WE need to deliver Jill's babies?"

"In that case, I want Kelly to do it." Jill said weakly with a smile, knowing Kelly was the only one in the room who had done it before.

"It won't come to that, calm down Peggy. We'll head down there in a bit."

"What time is it anyway?" Janet suddenly asked, reaching over Sandra she looked at Kelly's arm and the watch resting on it. "Oh! I need to borrow your phone!"

Janet jumped up before neither Damien nor Jill could answer and she grabbed onto the phone. Talking for a little bit they heard her explain the situation and it definitely sounded like she pushed up a date to another day. Hanging up, she slid down into the couch next to Sandra again, and Aurore turned to her with a smile.

"Let me guess? That was my dear brother Devin Dupont, aka DD?"

"It was." Janet smiled, blushing slightly which made everyone else in the living room giggle happily. "We were supposed to go out in a few hours, after lunch, but I called him and said it will be another day. He says hi by the way."

"I've heard from him that there's a little connection between you?" Aurore smiled happily. She enjoyed seing the two of them together, they really did make a great couple and she was happy, not only for her brother's sake, but even for Janet's. She didn't know the angels all that good, but she did know she was a wonderful woman.

"There is. He is a fine guy." Janet smiled, her cheeks turning red as Sandra begun laughing, shoving Janet's arm.

"You're in looove!"

"Oh, shut up you!" Janet laughed, pushing Sandra away.

"What about meee?" Sandra said, a big pout in her face, and Janet couldn't help but to laugh as she leaned over and kissed Sandra on top of her head.

"Don't worry, I still love you the most."

"Is everyone turning lesbian here?" Kamili grinned, rolling her eyes before laughing, looking towards Kelly. "I do want to hear the rest of the story. I have a bad feeling in my tummy that is isn't over yet?"

"You're gut is always right Kam." Kelly said, nodding. "This was far from over."

* * *

But for that night, it was just another day of movement. Everyone had been tensed, just waiting for anyone to hit them, to come out of no where, but nothing had happened and as they bunkered up for the night as the stars came out onto the dark velvet above them, they all exhaled and relaxed for the first time that day.

Sabrina had started a fire by the campground, and all four angels huddled close around it, Kris sitting close to Kelly and Sabrina having an arm draped around Jill. The blankets Bano was carrying were draped around Kelly, Kris and Jill, and they were all sitting in silence as they watched the flames dance around the dry wood, eating everything in its path. The yellow, orange and red flames were lighting up the night, and capturing everyone's eyes and mind as it made shapes and mesmerizing figures.

People soon fell asleep around them, everyone being exhausted from the long day of walking in the hot air that was now more humid than ever after the big rain yesterday. Jill was the first of the angels to fall asleep, with her head in Sabrina's lap she easily drifted off. And it didn't take long before she begun talking in her sleep, something Jill was often doing.

"Meatballs... Hamburgers... Tuna sandwiches... Ham... Bacon... Egg... Salad... Steak..."

"Someone needs to shut her up." Kris growled. Her stomach was rolling over and over, and she kept reminding herself of the feast they would have when they got back. She was going to eat so much that even Obelix would be full and then she would eat some more. And she was going to make Charlie pay for it all.

"... Lamb... pork chops... baby back ribs... jello... strawberry cake..." Jill kept mumbling, a smile spreading in her face and she was licking her mouth over and over, drooling onto Sabrina's military pants.

"Shit, she made it to dessert already." Kelly mumbled, feeling her own stomach roll and cramp too just like Kris'. Jill needed to be shut up before they would all die from starvation. Just for the sake of it, Kelly grabbed onto her gun.

"Kelly put down your gun." Sabrina giggled, frowning towards Kelly but with a wicked grin in her face, enjoying her friends fooling around even though their bad condition.

"Can I smack her with it?" Kelly asked, holding onto the barrel.

"… Chocolate chip cookies… donuts… coffee…"

Kelly was hitting the air above Jill's head with her gun, imagining how she hit Jill without actually hurting her, something she would never intentionally do. Unintentionally, she couldn't promise anything.

"Kelly, smack her with a burning log instead." Kris giggled, handing Kelly a big piece of log with fire at one end of it. Kelly giggled happily as she accepted it and just rose it up into the air as Sabrina grunted.

"Doooooown."

Kelly sighed and shrunk down, her shoulder blades and upper back complaining painfully as she did. She sighed again, loudly as to make a big point out of it, then smiled at Kris.

"I will just kill myself with it instead."


	20. Watch the bushes

**This chapter went fast to write! And you guys thought it was over? Think again ;D**

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Black Masks and Gasoline**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 19 – Watch the bushes**

_Simply because you can breathe,_  
_ doesn't mean you're alive,_  
_ or that you really live._  
_ This life has taken it's toll_  
_ and she just doesn't know,_  
_ how much more she can give._

A change could be felt in the air, for those who were awake. The dawn had broken and in the east, colors of orange and yellow was beginning to warm up the sky and the land as the colors in the west were still dark ocean blue. The big golden sphere in the east was with a yawn making its way up over the land, and by sending it's illuminating rays over the land, it was telling the world that morning was approaching in fast pace. Rise and shine. Anyone with their eyes open wide enough to notice the changes in nature, would have to stop and take an extra breath, because the sunrise was absolutely beautiful this morning, and it was saying with a tired smile that it was going to be followed by a beautiful and hot day.

Little did the sun know that trouble was sneaking around in the bushes.

The trees and bushes surrounding the gang of American soldiers created large shadows towards the ground, and hiding the sleeping soldiers from the sunlight. They were all huddled together around three big campfires that had died out several hours ago, and towards one of the trees were a lonely soldier sitting on the cold ground, his rifle leaning against his shoulder and his eyes had gotten too heavy several hours ago. He was supposed to have the night watch, but he was just too tired, he had not been able to stop the sweet relief of darkness that swept over him.

If he had been awake, he might have heard the sound of crunching leaves and branches as the outlines of several armed men could be seen sneaking around in the bushes, surrounding the Americans at their camp. Their rifles were loaded, their knives were sharp and glimmering in the morning sun, and they had heard about the girl killing their leader. They were out for revenge, and it was already a price on the woman's head. And they were all greedy, both for fame and for fortune, and they were not wasting any time.

They could see the four women sleeping in the middle of the camp, firearms closed to them, but they were all heavenly sleeping, their faces lighting up as the rays of sunlight hit them as if it wanted to show off every scar and scrapes covering the otherwise so soft features. One of the men waved to the others, pointing and whispering, not wanting to wake anyone up. This was going to be an easy slaughter. Get their heads off before they even had time to scream. Bringing the woman's head back would mean a great profit.

One of the men, obviously the leader of the pack, carefully tiptoed up towards the gang of sleeping women in the middle, careful to where he put his feet and with gentle care he knelt behind them. He looked them over, wondering which one of the women who had killed both of the Farid's, and after some careful thinking, he knew it was the woman with the burns on her cheek, neck and shoulders. She must've been burned by the fire that had gone off, sending Jahandar to the afterlife along with several of their friends and fellow men.

Slowly, he pulled up his knife, the Karud dagger with an 11 inches long blade made out of wootz, Damascus steel and a pronounced T spine tapering to an acute tip. The dagger was heavy in his hand, but he loved to hold it and he was a master with it. He was holding onto the white Ivory grip, and he closed his fingers around the soft grip, moving it around in his hand until he felt comfortable enough to make a killing move. The blade was absolutely sharp enough to slit her jugular in one rapid movement, and another one would get her head off from her shoulders. Simple as that.

He took a breath as he moved the silver blade towards the woman's neck, careful not to touch her, not wanting her to wake up. Killing was just so much easier when the target was sleeping, even though he could feel inside that it was not a very noble way of killing someone – and especially not a woman.

Not any woman though, this woman had rumors about her all over the nearby villages and towns. She had been seen saving another girl by throwing her up her shoulder and running with her while shooting with perfect aim. She had been seen in a window with a sniper's rifle and not missed a single shot. She had been seen fighting like an experienced warrior in the Bedouin camp and Aamir's son had fallen for her fast moving blade. She had stolen a hostage victim from Jahandar's basement and gotten away with it. She had killed Aamir and his closest men and she had most likely been the one to kill one of the best snipers in the Afghan militia. And like if that wasn't enough, she had tricked almost every single man left in their militia and army and managed to get them all blown into pieces, including the notorious Jahandar Farid. She had been seen from the woods jumping from the fire and walking out of there like it was nothing but an ordinary day at the office.

No, this was not just a woman. This was one of the most amazing warriors he'd heard of, she was already like a myth spreading through the villages. People feared her wrath, not knowing who she was or what she could possibly do to them if they crossed her path or she happened to cross theirs. Just the stories scared the daylights out of them. Some said that her heart must be black as coal, while some said it only shines for certain people.

Some people saw her as a monster. Other saw her as an angel.

The man holding a knife against her through did not really know what to think of her, but he did know he would be famous for killing her. He would be in the history books, grandparents would tell the toddlers on their laps about the stories of his heroism, how he brought down the mightiest warrior of them all.

* * *

"Could you stop it and just get to the point?" Janet flailed, bouncing from the suspense from the way Kelly was telling the story, exaggerating every thought and every sound to make the story more exciting.

"What fun would that be Janet?" Kelly smirked, rubbing her hands together before she put one of her hands towards her neck, moving her head backwards her neck was exposed. They could all see a small scar beginning to disappear right below her jawbone. "It was a very close call and if we hadn't gotten some unexpected help, I would not be sitting here today."

* * *

The man closed his eyes for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, his muscles preparing for the fatal slash of the sensitive neck belonging to the woman in front of him. Just as he was about to get it over with, a long and loud almost burping sound was heard from behind him, and he looked over his shoulder in confusion.

He gasped in shock for a millisecond before he was violently thrown up into the air by a giant, furry head. He fell over the woman who he had held the dagger at, rolling in the sand he landed in the leftovers of last night's campfire as he heard the woman gasp painfully as she had been thrown forward with force, landing on her stomach and hitting her face into the rocks that had kept the fire in place.

He twirled around shocked and horrified at what had just happened and before he had time to even wheeze another breath, all hell broke out. Everyone was awake, and his fellow men were attacking the soldiers before they had time to realize what had happened. The woman he'd tried to kill was pulling herself up onto her knees, a hand towards her mouth, blood seeping out through her fingers. Her head suddenly jerked up and she stared right at him, eyes dark green and filled with hate and anger like nothing he had ever seen before. She removed the hand from her mouth, and he could see how her mouth was filled with red blood that seemed to sparkle in the early sunlight.

Before he knew it, the woman who had been sleeping next to her, tall, darker and skinnier, grabbed onto him by his collar and pulled him off his feet. She slammed him into a nearby tree and cussed at him in his own language.

In the same time, a major face to face combat was going on in the background, people were killing each other all over the place. The man who seemed to be in charge had a gun in each hand and he killed everyone he saw with one clean shot per person. He had been in this business long enough to know not to waste ammo. Maximum was three bullets a man - two in the chest and one between the eyes. That usually did the trick.

The blood was pooling around the scene, and screams and sounds of clinging blades and people shouting out in pain and realization that death was coming their way interrupted what could've been such a beautiful morning. The birds that had been sitting in the trees above the sleeping soldiers had flown away quickly as Bano had crashed head first into the Afghan preparing to kill Kelly, and it had not been a moment too soon.

Kelly was now raising to her feet, Kris at her side. Kelly grabbed onto Kris' arm and she pulled her behind her, wanting her out of the fight and to stay safe. The other Munroe was peacefully sleeping next to the burnt down campfire, not realizing what was going on and everyone was absolutely too busy to have time to wake her up.

Another man came at Kelly with a dagger raised, and Kelly quickly pulled up the khanjar she kept close and as she fought the man with skills Kris was amazed to see, she pushed the pain in her back and leg into the back of her head. She was wobbling as she put weight onto her hurt leg, but she didn't have time to think about it. The man came at her again, and she jumped back, sucking her stomach in and he missed it with half an inch. She slammed the khanjar down onto the dagger and with the crooked blade of the khanjar she twirled it around, sending the dagger flying away into the air, slamming right into the back of another Afghan who fell to the ground with a loud gasp in overwhelming pain.

_So here and now, in our rotting nation_  
_ the blood, it pours, it's all on our hands now_  
_ we live, in fear, of our own potential_  
_ to win, to lose, it's all on our hands now_

.

Kelly quickly twirled around and sliced the throat of the man in front of her, Kris gasping and looking away as she did. Kris was not at all used to all of this, not at all. She knew why, but she couldn't help but to look at the woman in front of her, who spit out blood from her mouth and wiped it with the sleeve of her torn jacket, before attacking the next man coming her way. He ran towards her, and before Kelly could realize what she actually was doing, she leaned down, grabbed his arm with her hand and slammed her shoulder into his ribcage, sending him flying over her body and landing on the ground beneath her. In the movement, Kris winced as she heard the shoulder break and dislocate, but the man did not suffer for very long as Kelly walked up to hit and fired a single clean shot into his forehead.

Another gunshot went off, and Kelly froze as she felt a bullet whistle right by her ear. It missed her by a millimeter, and the following sound would forever haunt Kelly's dreams. The sound of a mother losing her only son, the sound of a mother in despair. Kelly twirled around towards the direction of which the bullet had went, and she watched with horror in her eyes how Arman, Bano's beautiful boy, fell hard to the ground with blood streaming out from his stomach, right behind his left front leg. Bano was already lying down next to her son, letting out heart wrenching sounds as she put her head over his body, not knowing what to do as she watched him die.

Kelly twirled around again. She heard someone growling and it took a while before she realized it was coming from deep inside her throat. There was a man with a rifle not far away from her, and he brought the rifle down as she looked at him, her eyes tensed and piercing his brain. The two of them stood and looked at each other for several seconds, the rumble going on behind them seemed to fade out and everything got quiet, becoming an ear deafening silence.

Then the movement. Kelly ducked as the Afghan brought up his rifle and fired again, the silver bullet going straight into a nearby tree, and as Kelly ducked she grabbed onto the dagger her attacker had dropped as Bano pushed him earlier. With a quick movement, she sent it flying through the air, hitting the man straight into his neck before he even realized he had missed his target. That was one mistake he would never have to repeat.

This was another win to the Americans, it didn't take long before the Afghans fled the scene, knowing they were not only outnumbered, but they would be killed by the wrath of the woman if they stayed along. Kelly twirled around as they ran off into the deserted land, and Kris couldn't help but to back off as she saw the fire burning in Kelly's eyes. Kelly only took a few steps forward before she grabbed a rifle, unsecured it within a second, put the barrel towards her left wrist and then shot the fleeing men down one by one before they were out of sight.

_Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned. Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.*_

"Kelly! What the fuck did you do that for?" Kris screamed at her, shocked at what Kelly just had done, as she grabbed onto Kelly's sleeve.

Kelly shook her arm, brushing Kris' hand away from her as she begun to walk up towards Sabrina who held the attacker in a death grip. He was a keeper, and from looking into his scared and terrified eyes, they could all see that he already knew he was in some deep shit.

Kris wouldn't let Kelly go though without a lecture. Shooting people in the back that was running for their lives was too much, it was over the top and it was such a cowardly and cold hearted thing to do. Kris thought she had seen everything about Kelly's dark side so far already, and so far she had been dealing with it, knowing Kelly would do whatever it took to get them out of there alive, and sure she was happy that she could hide behind Kelly, no one would get past this brick wall with lethal combat skills and sharped weapons, but this was out of line, and Kris would not put up with it.

"Kelly! Dammit! They were taking off! They were running, fleeing for their lives! How can you be so damn cold! Don't you have a heart?"

Kelly twirled around towards Kris, tensing her eyes into her soul like she had done back with the children in the house. Kelly's green eyes seemed black with anger and hatred, and it scared Kris all the way into her spine.

"A heart has no place on the battlefield."

_And I have an American Dream,_  
_ but it involves black masks and gasoline,_  
_ one day I'll turn these thoughts into screams,_  
_ at a world turned its back down on me_

* * *

*_Quote from "The Mourning Bride" (1697) written by William Congreve._


	21. Hero and Heart

**Thank you all for the support you're giving me, I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. You know I write for you guys!**

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Faint Resemblance  
**

**

* * *

Chapter 20 – Hero and Heart**

"OW!"

Kelly looked at her watch as Jill once again gasped in pain, and she rose to her feet, walking over towards where Jill was sitting on the other couch, Damien next to her, Kris up on her feet getting something to drink. Kelly put a gentle hand on Jill's shoulder, brushing her arm up and down. As Jill exhaled, she sunk down towards Damien who once again held her hard, afraid that she would pass out.

"Jill, they are just six minutes apart, I'd say it's time for us to leave."

Jill nodded weakly, tears running down her cheeks. Kelly smiled gently as she leaned forward and brushed down away with her thumb, then letting her hand fall down onto Jill's upper arm, squeezing it slightly.

"Don't worry, it will be okay."

Jill nodded, looking over towards Kelly with gratefulness in her eyes, as Damien helped her to stand up. She wobbled slightly, not having the energy to walk on her own, and Damien held a hard grip around her waist as he steadied her every step. They were not far from the door as her water broke and created a puddle underneath her on the floor.

"Holy jamoly!"

Everyone twirled around slightly and looked towards Peggy who had just dropped her cup with tea into the floor as she had entered the room along with Kris. Kris hurried and put her cup away, then hurrying up next to Jill.

"It's time to leave I see." Kris smiled encouraging, letting Jill lean on her too. "Don't worry, we'll be with you all the time, everything will be all right."

"We're leavin'! The babie is comin?" Peggy Lou said, her eyes wide in fear and her arms suddenly flailing around in the air. She begun running around in the living room and no one could do anything else but to watch her run. She was flailing around hollering incoherent words in her thick accent and as she finally seemed to be finding the doors leading towards the cars, she ran straight into the thick glass door. She stumbled backwards a few steps, her hands going instinctively to her nose that she had slammed first into the glass door that seemed untouched by the heavy treatment. As Peggy felt at her nose with her fingers, she could feel the sticky liquid coming from the nose, and bringing her fingers down she could see how the tips of her fingers were colored red.

Finding an old one that they could throw out she went up to her kid sister and pulled up her head in her lap, gently washing the blood away, as Jill once again bent over in pain.

"You go guys, we'll be right ahead as soon as she comes around." Aurore smiled, nodding to Jill as her contraction faded out. Jill just nodded weakly, not having the energy to stand up much longer.

"Well, you can handle it from now right?" Kelly smiled as she turned towards Damien, who just met her eyes with big, wide eyes, shaking his head, in the same time as Jill let go of him, twirled around and walked up to Kelly, grabbing her flannel shirt by the collar and shook her violently.

"Don't you dare leave me alone with him, you know he's such a wuss and I need you there or otherwise I might die Kelly, I really really need you Kelly and you're the only one who actually remembers something from childbirths cause Kris was in too much pain when she had hers so she can't be all cool and you know I do need you there." Jill breathed, all of it in one long line.

Kelly just stared at her, her face not showing any type of emotions at all for several seconds before she frowned.

"What?"

"What? Is that all you can say? What do you mean what? What? You need to be there with me Kelly or I am going to go crazy!"

Kelly just stared at Jill as Jill grabbed onto Kelly's arm and pulled her out with her to the car, everyone jumping into different cars, Aurore and Kamili shouting out that they'd come after as soon as Peggy woke up.

* * *

At the hospital, Damien hurried inside and got a wheelchair while Kelly helped Jill out of the car. The drive had been fast, Jill's not the only race car driver in the gang, but even though it had been fast, Jill still had endured some contractions in the car, screaming to Damien to drive faster. Damien now coming with a wheelchair, Kelly and Damien helped Jill to sit down as Kris, Janet and Sandra all drove into the parking lot outside the hospital.

They brought Jill inside and driving up to the admit desk the nurse recognized them as they came in. She smiled happily and called for Jill's doctor on the intercom before the gang had even reached the desk, and by the time they did she had all papers ready that Kris started filling out in the same time as the doctor and the nurse brought Jill inside a room to look her over. Kelly and Damien took a seat on each side of her and the doctor and nurse set Jill up and checked her over.

"Everything looks fine Jill, the contractions are five minutes apart and you're 7 cms dilated already. You'll be a mother soon. You still don't want any epidural?"

"No, I want to do it naturally." Jill smiled, leaning her head back down into the pillow as Damien gently brushed the hair out of her face.

"Okay then. I will be in regularly to check on you and if there's anything you need don't hesitate to call." The doctor smiled as he and the nurse left the room.

"Thank you Dr Daniels." Kelly smiled as he left, whereupon Kris, Janet and Sandra walked inside and all sat down around Jill. Not many minutes later, Aurore, Kamili and Peggy Lou came inside too, Peggy with a swollen and red nose that had been stuffed with paper, way more paper than was necessary, and she was a crying mess as she roared inside. She hurried up and literally jumped down into Jill's bed, hugging Jill closely much to Jill's discomfort.

"Pegs, get off me." Jill sighed, shoving Peggy Lou away from on top of her, and Peggy fell down next to Jill's side, cuddling up close with her head on top of Jill's chest.

Jill shoved some blonde hair out of her mouth and sighed loudly, whereupon Peggy pressed herself closer.

"I got scared Jill! What if I'd miss ya having ya babie?"

"Trust me Peggy, you won't miss it." Jill sighed, before once again jerking up into sitting position, causing Peggy to fall off from her. Peggy quickly recovered though as she pulled her arms around Jill, supporting her through another contraction. As Jill's head fell back towards the pillow, Kelly looked over Jill and gently brushed her hair out of her face, and Jill looked up at her with gratitude, even though Kelly could see the pain in her face.

"Can I get you anything?" Kelly asked gently, and Jill shook her head.

"Keep telling the story. It's good at keeping my mind off from things."

Kelly nodded, looking around at everyone who had gotten comfy around and in Jill's bed, all of them now looking towards Kelly with excitement in their eyes.

"Well, where were I?" Kelly asked, looking around at her friends and family.

"You were pissed off." Kamili nodded, the others agreeing. "You were really pissed off and said that the heart has no place on the battlefield."

"Oh, yes. Pissed off was an understatement." Kelly grinned, sinking into story-telling mode.

* * *

_I know that nothing will be the same again_  
_ there's only so much I can handle_  
_ only so much I can take_  
_ before my knees start to buckle_  
_ and my arms start to shake_

.

Kelly brushed herself off as she walked up to Sabrina who was still holding onto the Afghan that had attacked them. Kelly shoved Sabrina out of the way and grabbed onto the man, violently shoving him several times towards the tree, making his head hit the hard wood several times before she dropped him, let him fall to the ground. She then hunched down and grabbed onto the man's hair, violently forcing his head back and forced him to look at her. Blood was streaming down from the side and back of his head, and his eyes were obviously having a hard time focusing on anything.

"Why did you try to kill me?" Kelly growled at the man with anger burning in her eyes. The man's eyes darted back and forth, not understanding her language and she scared the bejesus out of him. Sabrina hunched down too, her hand resting on top of Kelly's shoulder, and she could feel Kelly shaking underneath her torn clothes. Sabrina knew Kelly was exhausted, she had pushed herself far beyond her own limits and Sabrina knew that if Kelly didn't calm down and rest soon, she would just fall apart.

As Sabrina hunched down, she translated what Kelly said, and the man's eyes darted around between Kelly's and Sabrina's faces, the words just rambled out of him as he told them all about the bounty on Kelly's head, how her legend had spread over the country already and that they all just wanted the money and honor.

Kelly, who had been hunching, now fell back, landing on her butt on the cold ground, catching herself with her hands. Sabrina looked back at her, Kelly's eyes were wide open in confusion, exhaustion and pain. Sabrina could see that she was on the edge of breaking and she told the guys that had gathered up around them to tie the Afghan up and keep him safe. He could be useful later. Sabrina then grabbed onto Kelly and brought her with her, walking over to the campfire where they had been sleeping, and helped Kelly to sit down next to Jill who was still sleeping peacefully. Kris hurried over to her friends and rolled her eyes towards her sister. Not even a war going on could wake the oldest Munroe up from her beauty sleep. Kris just sighed and decided that Jill needed the rest. Her body was still giving her excruciating pain all the time and she needed real medical care, Kris knew that. Her body was not heeling as it needed too, none of them were doing very great and all needed to be tended to, but to be able to get to a hospital, they had to get themselves home.

Knowing there was a price on Kelly's head just set them off two steps backwards.

Kris sat down next to Sabrina and Kelly, gently taking a hold of Kelly's chin she moved it around so that she could see where the blood came from, blood was covering Kelly's chin and neck, going down over her chest.

"Don't worry Kris. I just hit my teeth into a stone or something when he knocked me over. Hurt the back and shoulders more than my mouth, but I think I knocked a tooth out." Kelly said, pulling her head away from Kris' hands, opening her mouth though to let Kris take a look.

"Yeah, you're missing a tooth and both front teeth are broken in half. Do you know what that means?" Kris said, her serious face suddenly turning into a wide grin, looking over towards Sabrina who couldn't help but to grin too. They both knew the same thing, and Kelly moaned loudly in annoyance, then she growled.

"Yes. I know. It means Charlie is going to pay my dentist appointments. And you're going with me to hold my hand." Kelly said, looking sternly over towards Kris. Kris couldn't help but to smile. Kelly, not afraid of anything or anyone, she would look killers into their eyes and she would help them all to stay alive through a war. But, if there was something Kelly very much liked to stay away from, it was the dentist. It scared her, and she usually brought Kris with her as moral support as she had to go there.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you." Kris grinned, moving her hand to Kelly's shoulder and rubbing it gently, careful not to hurt her friend. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, I just want to get out of here." Kelly sighed, bringing her hand up to her face and rubbing it.

"What are we going to do with the man?" Sabrina asked, looking over towards the man who had his hands and feet bound, and he was also bound to the tree with a gag in his mouth.

"We'll keep him. If he's someone special, he's gonna be our ticket out of here." Kelly said, looking up at the man with a dead cold stare in her eyes. "I want to get out of here. It's been too long and it's time to end this once and for all."

"So we can get home and kill Charlie." Kris nodded, Sabrina and Kelly nodding along with her.

"Exactly." Kelly said, her lips curling up. "We need a revenge for him you know."

"We will think about it." Sabrina said, patting Kelly's shoulder. "I am going to look over some of the guys that were injured. I'll be back. Try to get some rest, will you?"

"Sure." Both Kelly and Kris smiled as Sabrina rose to her feet and walked off, leaving the two alone by the burnt down fire. The two of them sat quiet in silence for a while, just listening to the talks around them, people drifting off to sleep and Jill snoring and chewing in her dreams. It was not very difficult to imagine what she was dreaming.

Kris smiled towards her sister before she grabbed a bottle of water, handing it over to Kelly who happily accepted it, drinking some and spitting some out, trying to clean her mouth from the taste of blood.

.

_And have we been here before?_  
_ will we be here again?_  
_ I don't know how much more of me you expect_

.

"I didn't mean what I said, you know." Kris said, making Kelly looking over towards her with a raised eyebrow before she spit out more blood into the dark sand.

"About you not having a heart." Kris added, looking away uncomfortably.

"No, it's okay. I deserved that." Kelly said with a sigh, heaving down some more water before putting the bottle away.

"You didn't. All you've been trying to do is save us, and we keep complaining and giving you a hard time. I get that. I'm sorry."

Kelly shrugged her shoulder and put her arm around Kris' waist, pulling her closer as she gave Kris a small smile. Kris still didn't look up towards Kelly, and Kelly took Kris' chin in her hand and turned her face towards her, their eyes meeting.

"I meant what I said. If I start thinking with my heart instead of my instincts, I might as well carve out my headstone now."

Kris didn't say anything for a few minutes before she let her head fall down onto Kelly's shoulder, enjoying the warmth and comfort.

"Well... for what it's worth, I think you're a great leader."

Kelly let out a small giggle before leaning her cheek down onto the top of Kris' head. "Hm. Thanks. I think you're pretty great yourself."

"I feel safe with you. I don't know why, but... when I'm with you, I feel like nothing can happen to me."

Kelly lifted her head, looking towards Kris with raised eyebrows, then let out a long sigh.

"Did you forget being shot?"

"Nah. I keep getting reminded every time I move. But you, you kept me alive Kelly. I stayed alive because you stayed next to me. You helped me through it, you were always there and you still are. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you, anyone of us, and you know that."

"I'll do my best to live up to this high standard you have of me. But I can't promise I'll be able to take care of every problem. But I'll try."

"Keep trying, you're doing good." Kris smiled as she relaxed down towards Kelly's chest, Kelly putting both arms around the younger blonde as Kris closed her eyes. "Being the hero suits you."

"I'm no hero Kris, just an overachieving soldier."

"You're my hero."

"Well, I might be your hero Kris, but you will always be my heart."


	22. Another morning

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Entertainment**

**

* * *

Chapter 21 - Another morning**

_Is this only entertainment_  
_ Pull the curtains, places please_  
_ We've learned to sing and dance and cry on cue_  
_ But this is more than entertainment_  
_ In a world so sick with pain_  
_ This is the only thing that's real or true_

It didn't take long for Kris to fall asleep in Kelly's lap, and Kelly gently moved Kris over and put her down onto the ground, wrapping a blanket and pulling it around her as she noticed Kris shiver against the cool night. Kelly rose to her feet, swaying unbalanced as her world went darker for a while, but standing still for a second, she quickly regained balance and begun walking to one of her new friends.

Bano was lying next to her son, her head resting over his lifeless body. Kelly wasn't able to read animals that well, she didn't know how they reacted and she couldn't understand what their movements were trying to tell her, but even though Bano was a huge camel, Kelly could easily see the pain in her heart and the tears in her eyes. She was devastated, and Kelly didn't even want to imagine the pain of losing your only child. It was something Kelly hoped she would never have to go through.

Kelly saw how Sabrina approached Bano and Arman, wanting to check on Arman even though she knew in her stomach that there was no way she could save the little camel. Sabrina knew more about animals than Kelly, and as far as she knew from their anatomy, she knew right behind the left front leg was the placement of the heart, slightly above was the lungs. From the amount of blood that was streaming out around the two camels, Sabrina, and most people around them, knew that he had probably died immediately.

As Sabrina moved forward, Bano took up her head, and Sabrina instantly stopped as she let out a loud gurgling sound from deep down her throat and pressed her ears back as hard as she could. Her mouth opened wide and her lips went up to really show her long teeth, making her look as redoubtable as possible. When Sabrina didn't immediately back off, Bano spit in her direction, really showing off that no one was allowed close to her boy.

Kelly and Sabrina's eyes met, and Sabrina nodded slowly to Kelly, who already knew that they were thinking the same thing. With that, she slowly walked up to Bano, the camel's mad expression immediately relaxed as it was just Kelly walking towards her, and she let Kelly come all the way up and sit down next to her. Bano put her head back down, resting it towards her son's body, and Kelly put one of her hands on top of the bridge of her nose, rubbing it gently. Kelly put her other hand on top of Arman's head, gently rubbing the little baby camel too as tears was building up into her eyes. This shouldn't have happened. It didn't need to happen. It was just not fair. Kelly had really grown fond of this camel and her son, and she was boiling inside that she hadn't been able to keep them both safe.

Kelly looked up as she felt a small nudge towards her cheek. She saw Bano's big head looking up at her, the tired and sad eyes looking straight at her, even though Kelly knew camels couldn't see straight forward from that angle. Bano put her muzzle towards Kelly's cheek and Kelly could feel the faint wind from Bano blowing on her.

"I don't know camels very good, but when horses blow lightly into each other's nostrils it's like a gentle greeting. When they blow hard, it tells you to be on guard." Sabrina said, standing a bit away, observing them slightly as Kelly and Bano talked. "Try blowing back, gentle."

Kelly smiled, and lightly blew into Bano's big nostril. The animal relaxed and once again put her head down onto her son's back, closing her eyes. Kelly laid down her head too onto Arman, putting one hand on top of Bano, and closed her eyes too.

* * *

A few hours later, Kelly lifted her head up from the not so warm fur that her face was buried in, and she looked around her, trying to remember where she was and what had happened. Looking down and seeing Arman bathing in blood, the last hours of consciousness came at her hard. Ambush. Bano saved her. Arman killed. Hostage. It was just easy to say that last night was not the best so far.

Now she lifted her upper body up from the dead camel's body and rose to her feet, wobbling and feeling like she was passing out as she rose up, but managing to stay on her feet. She looked over at her friends, smiling as they all looked so peaceful sleeping. Kris was huddled down into the blanket Kelly put over her the earlier day, Sabrina was in the middle just waking up as Kelly could see, she was stretching her sore limbs and yawning. Jill was mumbling and moving around, but sleeping with a smile on her face. Kelly shook her head as she looked at Jill, she had slept through the entire attack last night and throughout the night. Nothing could wake that girl up and Kelly knew it.

Moving around she could tell most people were still sleeping, some were moving around and stretching their legs, but most of them were still sound asleep. The sun was higher now, even though Kelly could say that they had only slept maybe two or three hours since the attack, but she couldn't sleep. Her legs were restless and she needed some privacy for a little bit. Sighing and wishing for her own house she walked off from the others, moving out into the bushes to get some privacy she did her early morning business before rising up again, buttoning her pants she was just about to step out of the bushes when she felt a hand covering her mouth, another hand wrapping itself around her stomach.

She was violently lifted from her feet and pulled backwards out of the bushes. She was kicking and screaming as she was pulling backwards, but the pain in her body was taking over as someone pressed against her hurt back, and the person holding her was a lot stronger than her at the moment. Her screaming was muffled by the hand over her mouth, but Kelly didn't waste a second. When hurting her teeth last night, her front teeth now had razor sharp edges and she didn't hesitate as she buried them into the skin of the hand holding her. The person let her go with a yelp and Kelly fell to the ground. In the same time as she screamed for help she put her hands towards the ground and kicked out a leg, hitting the person on his shin and making him fall hard next to her.

Kelly heard people moving around her, but she was too dazed to know from which direction they were coming from or on which side they were standing. Looking over at the person next to her she saw a man who's face was mostly covered by a white shawl, and his eyes staring at Kelly in horror. Kelly was boiling and he could see it.

Kelly jumped to her feet and placed a hard kick into the man's ribcage, making him roll over in pain, letting out a cry in pain as he did.

"Can't I even pee alone! Get the fuck out of here!" Kelly roared as she kicked the man in the back as he sprung to his feet, stumbling and falling down onto his knees a couple of times before managing to run away, several other men following him as he ran. Kelly sat down on the ground again, breathing heavily from being jumped from behind… again. She was angry, she was tired of this and just wished for it to be over. It had been too long already and she was just waiting for that fatal blow to hit her over the head.

With a shaky body she begun getting up on her feet, pressuring herself above her limits and straightening her back in the same time as she heard someone move behind her. Tensing her eyes in anger she quickly sent an elbow straight back and she could feel it hit someone's face. Not letting go for a second, Kelly grabbed onto a hand from behind and easily flipped the person over onto its back.

"Ow!"

Kelly froze in the movement, realizing who's voice that was, who it belonged to, and looking over her shoulder towards the person she had just flipped, she saw her dark haired tall friend lying on her back, rubbing her shoulder.

"Bri! I'm sorry, I thought it was some bad guy, again!" Kelly immediately excused herself, falling down onto her knees she crawled over to Sabrina's side. "Did I hurt you?"

"I can see a white light." Sabrina whispered, blinking several times. Sabrina's face was covered in blood gushing from her nose and Kelly winced as she realized what she had done.

Elbows are powerful weapons.

"Mom? Is that you? Mommy! The light… so bright…" Sabrina mumbled, her eyes darting back and forth.

"Sabrina, the light is the sun." Kelly smiled as she leaned over Sabrina and put her hand on her cheek.

"Then… Who is that woman looking down at me?"

"That's me Private Duncan." Kelly giggled, rubbing Sabrina's cheek with her thumb. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, I mean yeah. I'm fine. Great wake up call, I mean if I wasn't awake before I sure am now."

"Yeah, you really seem awake." Kelly smiled, looking at her friend who seemed very out of it as she was lying on her back.

Kelly smiled as she sat down on her butt as several men joined their side, and Kelly looked up towards one of them, now without having any energy what so ever left in her body. Kelly smiled lightly and grabbed onto his hand, accepting his help to rise to her feet as another man helped Sabrina up onto her feet. The man smiled, he didn't say anything as he helped Kelly stand up balanced, and as she seemed to be able to stand by herself he pulled up a buckled package of smokes from his pocket that he with a grin pressed down into Kelly's chest pocket. He then took one of them and lit a lighter, bring the cigarette to his mouth.

"Bad mornings call for a smoke, and you seem to be needing those more than me." The man smiled, raising his eyebrows before walking off.

Kelly rolled her eyes, but happily pulled up a smoke and a lighter she had in her pockets since earlier. Always a good thing to bring, you never know when you would possibly need some fire. Lighting a cigarette she looked over towards Sabrina who gently put an arm around Kelly's waist as they begun walking over to their friends, Kris and Jill were at this time both awake, sitting on the ground looking disorientated, wondering what all the fuzz was about. Both Sabrina and Kelly couldn't help but to smile, the two blonde Munroes sure was heavy sleepers. Jill looked around with a yawn, seeing Kelly drenched in dry blood from her mouth, seeing Sabrina's nose already swelling up to three times it size and Sabrina carefully pressing a cold cloth against it, and upon seeing Bano lying over her dead son and seeing an Afghan being held hostage against a tree, Jill frowned her forehead.

"Did I miss something?"

The others just looked at her and rolled their eyes as they moved around, trying to get the kinks out of their sore bodies. It was time to move it, they had to get going if they wanted to make it back to base soon. With a price on Kelly's head, they all knew they would be ambushed more than once and they made sure to keep their eyes open all the time from here on, make sure that no one would sneak up from behind and kill anyone. They were too tired of it and just wanted to get back.

Sabrina helped Jill up and before the sun rose even higher, the group was leaving again. Bano had been trying to decide weather to stay or to leave her boy, but as Kelly had gotten a shovel and begun digging, several others had joined in and it didn't take long before they had been able to give Arman a proper funeral.

* * *

"God dammit!"

"You're doing great Jill, breathe. In, and out. You can do it sweetie." Kris said as she wiped Jill's forehead with a wet cloth, wincing as she saw the amount of pain Jill was in.

"I don't… even get how… this is going to… wooork." Jill wheezed and panted as she fought through another strong contraction that was tormenting her body. "The kid is big. I'm not."

"That's why it hurts Jill." Kelly smiled, holding onto Jill's hand, letting her squeeze it hard through the contraction.

"But how? How can it possibly work?" Jill asked, her eyes growing wide as she looked over to Kelly, suddenly rushing at her and grabbing onto her collar. "How!"

"Muscles stretch. Bones break. Things tear." Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders with an evil grin in her face.

Jill stared at her for a couple of seconds before letting Kelly go and heaving herself out of the bed, walking over to try and find her shoes and a jacket.

"Jill, what are you doing?" Kris asked with raised eyebrows as she looked at her sister, all of them being too stunned to actually stop her.

"I am not doing this. I am going home and the baby is staying inside of me forever."

"Jill, you're gonna have to get it out at some point and if you wait much longer you'll explode from the inside. I have a feeling that will hurt worse." Kris grinned towards her sister. "It's not like you have a choice Jill."

"I am out of here." Jill nodded, opening the door, still being barefoot, but holding her jacket in one hand.

"No, Jill, stop, the baby will fall out!" Damien called out and rushed out to get her, bringing her back inside and forcing her back to bed.

"I feel like I've done this before." Kelly said as she furred her brows, wrinkling her forehead before shaking her head slightly.

"What do you mean?" Kamili asked as she looked over at Kelly, in the same time as the gang watched Peggy and Damien try to comfort Jill and explain that everything would be fine.

"I don't know, it's just this feeling I have, you know, deja vu. It feels like I've already gone through this. Maybe… Maybe someone should go and get some ice chips."

"OH! I want ice chips!" Jill cried out, once again trying to jump out of bed, only this time to be stopped by another contraction. Jill's arms flailed, reaching out for anything and the first thing she came in contact with was Peggy's big hair. Jill's arms flailed around, one of them holding onto Peggy's hair and dragging her around in different motions with Peggy screaming after. Kelly was holding back a giggle because it looked hilarious, and for some reason she felt that she should be pleased that it wasn't her.

As the contraction passed, Kelly and Damien helped Peggy and Jill to untangle themselves from each other, before Kris went out to get some ice chips.

"Kris, don't go to the left in the hallway, that machine is broken. Ask a nurse instead."

Kris looked at Kelly with a confused look, then shrugged it off as she decided not to ask too many questions, then headed out into the corridor to try and find some ice chips to Jill.

"Well, Kris is gone but she was there so she doesn't miss anything. Tell us more Kelly." Sandra pleaded, looking over at Kelly as she was clinging onto Janet's shoulder.

"Well, we started walking. It was a long morning, filled with various complains from most people, especially someone in particular, no names mentioned." Kelly said, her eyes glaring over at Jill who was at the moment toying with Peggy Lou's big hair, not looking up at Kelly at first, but as she felt everyone look at her she did, and frowned.

"I never complained. Never!"

"Jill, I felt like killing you myself." Kelly sighed, but with a smile on her lips. "You were a pain in the buttocks."

* * *

"I have never felt so dirty in my entire life." Jill sighed loudly as she sat down on an old bench as they reached another ghost town after several hours of walking. Everyone was now sinking down to take an hours rest, something they all felt they needed.

Kelly felt like she needed a rest from Jill's nagging and complaining but that was obviously not going to happen anytime soon. One of the guys offered Jill a smoke and she accepted it, lightning it and bring it up to her mouth. She stuck it into the corner of her mouth as she took off her helmet, pulled down the mohawk of hair that she had braided into a thick and long horse tail, and let the hair fall down. She enjoyed feeling the thin hair towards her cheek, but she wrinkled her nose in disgust as she realized how dirty it was.

Kris walked by and sat down next to her sister, her nose wrinkling too as she noticed the smoke.

"Jill, you don't smoke!"

"I'm in the middle of a war, what's going to kill me, the cigarette or the bullets flying at me?"

Kris looked over at her sister and she couldn't help but to snicker as she saw how miserable Jill was. Her hair was cut like a mohawk, the left over hair was sweaty, dirty and very curly, and it kept falling into Jill's mouth all the time.

"These damn towns doesn't have a shower, no blow dyer! No electric! No warm water! No nothing! This is just another hellhole!"

"You don't have any hair Jill, why do you need a blow drying?" Kelly giggled from the other bench, she too was enjoying a smoke and some water from the well.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"Anything else?" Sabrina said as she looked over at Jill in the same time as Kelly gave her the bottle of water.

"And I can't shave my legs! THAT PISSES ME OFF!"

"You eat, sleep and shit in your long legged pants. Why the hell do you need to shave your legs?" Kelly asked as her eyes met Sabrina and Kris', all three of them were giggling hysterically at Jill's misery and it was making Jill even more mad.

"Sergeant at the base is hot."

"... We're not on the base Jill!" Kelly cried out, rolling her eyes as she did, in the same time as Jill stretched her sore back and lifted her chin up high.

"Well, a girl needs to be prepared for anything coming her way."

Kelly stretched her back too, looking down the alley behind her two blonde friends who was sitting opposite of Sabrina and Kelly. Kelly's jaw clenched and her eyes tensed up as she looked over down the street, and all her three friends could immediately tell something was up.

"Well then Jill, let's prepare for another rumble."


	23. As dusk came

**Sorry for once again being slow, but here's another chapter. Thank you all for your love and support, it's highly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: There are mentions of _Islam_ in this chapter, and I know there are people from several different religions reading the story. **There's no offense meant for anyone **and I hope no one takes it the wrong way, and I hope it's not too sensitive this close after 9/11. I also hope I got what I know about Islam correct and that there aren't any rude mistakes in that part that may upset you Muslims. Please feel free to correct me if there are. ****I don't mean to look down upon or praise any religion what so ever and I don't mean to offend people's views.**  
_I don't stand for any religion myself but believe and respect that everyone is allowed to believe in whatever they may :)_

**_So you got this clear and won't kill me for this chapter? Good, I see you're nodding. Then you may keep reading. ^_^_  
**

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Reception Fades**

* * *

**Chapter 22 – As dusk came**

_Is the best yet to come?  
Or did it pass by long ago?  
Are we holding on to a thread,  
Of something already dead?_

Everyone looked up as Kelly had spoken, looking towards the alley where her eyes were stuck. Sabrina shouted out to their fellow country men before they started moving around, Sabrina, Jill and Kris got to their feet and begun hurrying towards the ruins of the burnt down village. Kelly stayed seated, and Sabrina reached down and grabbed her arm, but Kelly shoved her away.

"Kelly, we've gotta move. We're right in their line of fire." Sabrina said sternly, looking up again as she was worried they would not make it out in time.

Kelly sat solid as a rock, staring at the group of men approaching her with loaded weapons and silver blades that reflected in the sunlight.

"I will not run Sabrina. I will not run. If I start running now I will never stop. I refuse to."

"Kelly, are you insane! These guys will kill you!"

Without answering, Kelly rose to her feet and walked away towards the ruins where everyone had hid, and she grabbed onto the Afghan they held hostage. Grabbing him roughly by the hair she dragged him out with her, and by the time she got back to where she had been standing earlier, the Afghan men were so close that Kelly could hear the sound of their feet as they put them down into the sand. She held the Afghan in front of her as a shield, hoping that perhaps they at least wouldn't kill their own fellow man right on the spot and that they would be able to talk. But she was wrong. One of the men, who seemed to be the leader, looked right past him, looking straight into Kelly's eyes. He was wearing a veil so Kelly couldn't see his mouth, but she was sure that he was grinning at her.

The gunshot was heard before Kelly even had time to react. She felt the bullet hit the Afghan she had pressed towards her body and they both fell backwards with high force, the Afghan landing on top of her in the sand.

"Kelly!"

Kris scream was all that Kelly could hear before a thick load of bullets followed, whistling through the air, blowing over everyone's heads and making the air thick of smoke from the burning rifles and handguns. It seemed to be endless and Kelly had no idea who were shooting and who was taking the massive amounts of bullets, but she had a strong feeling that both sides were firing most of their ammunition. A loud sound from an explosion made Kelly shut her eyes hard, and she could feel debris, dust and smoke fall down over her, even though she was lying underneath the Afghan who was not moving. She didn't even try to roll him off from her, she used him as protection against all the falling bits and as the silence swept over them all, she still had her eyes closed.

The weight on her body quickly disappeared and she opened her eyes in fear and worry, wondering who was by her, who had lifted the dead weight off from her and she prepared to strike in case that it was enemies. Her eyes were burning as she opened them, she could feel the smoke and dust tear them and unable to see anything, she lashed out her closed fists, wanting to get away from whoever was leaning over her. A strong hand grabbed onto her ankles, and a body fell down on its knees next to her, forcing her arms down to the ground. Kelly trashed her body, squirming and fighting with all her might to get away, until she could hear her favorite voice in the world, one of the few voices that could calm her down with just one word, just the sound of it could make Kelly's world stop spinning around her.

"Kelly, sweetie, calm down, it's me."

Kelly exhaled as she heard Kris' voice, and as she tried opening her eyes again she let them get adjusted to the thick air and a few moments later she was able to see Kris sitting next to her. As Kris saw that she relaxed she let Kelly's wrists go and she put a gentle hand on Kelly's cheek.

As Kelly relaxed she could feel the pain sweep over her like a blanket of thorns, and she groaned loudly in pain as she tried to lift her upper body up to see the damage, what part was hurting and what had happened.

"Kelly, stay still for God's sake."

The sound of Sabrina's strained voice made Kelly stay still, the tensed voice coming from her friend told her that she had been hurt and she didn't dare to move when Sabrina used that voice towards her. Instead she looked up at Kris, her eyes watering due to the smoke and when she saw the pain on Kris' face she felt like kicking herself in the butt for being so insanely stupid. Kris looked down at her and their eyes met. Kris didn't say anything, but she leaned down and pressed her lips towards Kelly's forehead, staying like that for several moments before leaning her cheek towards the forehead instead.

"Kelly, why did you do that?" Kris whispered, and Kelly could hear the cry in her voice, making Kelly swallow as she closed her eyes and groaned as she felt hands probe around a very sore spot.

"I'm sorry." Kelly whispered, not knowing what else to answer to that question. "How, how bad is it?"

Kris didn't answer, but Sabrina did.

"The bullet went in underneath your breast Kelly, I can't tell how bad it is before we've been able to move you to another place, but you're bleeding a lot and we need to stop it. If we're lucky, the bullet is lodged into a rib and it didn't get any further, hurting any organ. There's not exit hole at least."

"What… what about… him?" Kelly whispered, her eyes closed again as she felt strong pressure towards her hurt ribcage.

"He's dead. It went straight through his chest. I think the fact that both of you fell backwards as the bullet hit made the bullet hit you further down that him, and he's also shorter than you." Sabrina said, and Kelly nodded slowly, as Kris rose her head from hers, her hand on top of Kelly's head.

"Give me some fabric to bandage this with." Sabrina said, obviously not to Kelly, but they were also obviously not alone.

The sound of fabric being torn to shreds made Kelly open her eyes, and soon she felt a hand on top of her own.

"Kelly, we need to get you up into sitting position, okay?"

Kelly just nodded weakly before Sabrina and Kris grabbed onto Kelly's body and forced her up into sitting position as Kelly gritted her teeth in pain that went rushing through her body, in the same pace as a dry forest could go up in flames if a lighting struck.

Kris held Kelly's body still and Kelly melted into her as Sabrina started bandaging Kelly's ribcage. Kelly closed her eyes and her head fell towards that soft curl in Kris's neck, and Kris talked smoothly into her ear to help Kelly through the pain. As Sabrina was finished Kelly could feel strong arms grabbing her behind her back and underneath her feet as someone just whiskered her up and swept her away such as any hero in any movie would do to the damsel in distress.

Kelly looked up at who was moving her and saw one of the guys she had been butting heads several times, even earlier that day. Now he was carrying her towards the ruins and he lowered her down on a blanket inside one of them. Kris and Sabrina was immediately at her side again, Jill was there too but with her injured hands she couldn't help much.

"Do we have any morphine?" Sabrina asked someone as Kris moved closer to Kelly's head again, gently putting her hand on top of it and offering Kelly a small smile.

"Don't listen to her Kelly, focus on me instead. Look into my eyes, you don't need to hear what they are talking about." Kris said gently as she tried to get Kelly's focus off from the wound and Sabrina and one of the soldiers who were sitting on each side of Kelly, preparing to deal with the wound. It didn't work for long though, the minute Sabrina eased on the pressure to quickly apply new one after removing the fabric covering the wound, Kelly gasped loudly in pain as it went through her like flames once again. Sabrina then starting to work on closing the wound made Kelly's eyes roll back and she quickly embraced the darkness without having much to say about it.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Janet asked in confusion as Kelly stopped to help Jill through another strong contraction.

"I had a plan Janet, it just didn't exactly go as I had predicted it." Kelly answered, even though most of her attention was at Jill, who was holding one of her hands and wincing hard, as Kelly pulled her fingers through Jill's hair with her free hand.

"Evidently." Kamili said, the other agreeing with her.

Kelly nodded before continuing, still holding her attention at her friend in pain. "The plan was that the guy in front of me would take the bullet and I would pretend to be dead so that the others wouldn't come after me, they would think I was dead and we could all get home safely without having more people attacking us from behind. I was sure that if he thought I was dead, he would spread it around the world as fast as he could."

"And he did." Kris said, in the same time as Jill relaxed again, closing her eyes and breathing hard as she sunk down into the pillow, as Damien wiped her forehead with a cloth.

"I think you need to take over for me Kris, I don't remember much of what happened next." Kelly said, looking over towards Kris with a smile.

"No wonders, you passed out. I find it quite hard to remember what has happened while being unconscious." Kris said with a grin, before looking over towards the angels.

* * *

"Sabrina, she passed out." Kris said, looking over towards the more experienced angel as she leaned closer towards Kelly's face.

"Put your fingers on her jugular and make sure you feel her pulse all the time." Sabrina said, casting a glance towards Kelly's pale face before getting back at where she was.

One of the other soldiers knelt next to Sabrina with a medical bag, some of the stuff were Sabrina's and some of it had belonged to the other field doctor who had not made it past the village where the angels had met up with the others. One of them had managed to get a hold of the bag even though the doctor's life couldn't be saved, and Sabrina was happy to have the bag, even though she would've liked to have the other doctor even more. Especially at the moment as she looked down onto Kelly's blood soaked body.

Opening the bag she found a pair of tweezers and as the two guys next to her was prepared with cloths to press against the wound, Sabrina took a breath before pushing the tweezer in through the wound, and she closed her eyes as she searched for the bullet. She couldn't see anything through the blood that was gushing out of the wound so instead she closed the eyes to rely on her other senses instead. It didn't take long before she found the bullet and snapped it out of Kelly's body. The guys pressed the cloths against the wound immediately as Sabrina put the bullet and tweezer away, grabbing some suture thread and a needle, beginning to stitch the gaping hole in Kelly's side together.

As she was done, she put everything away, got some water and gently cleaned away the blood from the area before bandaging everything tightly to make sure it didn't get infected, or at least try to prevent it. Kelly was then covered in blankets before placed to rest inside the ruins, where everyone had gathered up.

"We have a problem." One of the soldiers said to the sergeant as he sneaked a peak outside, and the sergeant went up to the window to see what he was looking at.

Looking outside, he saw too that the city was beginning to crawl with people, Afghans with rifles and other weapons were filling the little village up, in search for Kelly and all the others, looking for vengeance and a reward mightier than a years pay.

"You gotta be kidding me." Sabrina grunted as she looked over at the sergeant. "There are more people?"

"Hell, lots of them." The sergeant nodded. "Some of them bastards are leaving though, they are talking to one of the guys who survived our rifles and he seems to be telling them she was shot. I just hope they won't try and come in here. If they do, I will fucking kill everyone like you step on a mouse."

Sabrina rolled her eyes as she sat down close to Kelly, next to Jill who was leaning her back towards the wall. Kris was on her knees next to Kelly, refusing to leave her side.

"We have to wait them out. We need to leave this place but we can't do that when they are this many outside." The sergeant said. "You, butthead, keep watch."

Another soldier sneaked up to the window and peaked out, prepared to inform everyone if someone was getting too close.

"Everyone keep their weapons loaded and prepared. If someone opens the door and are not wearing the god damn American colors, you have my permission to shoot them. Remember, maximum three bullets per asshole. Two in the chest and one between the eyes oughtta do it." The sergeant said, pacing in the room, not liking the situation but knowing they couldn't do very much than to wait. Either wait for help or wait for everyone to leave. They could not go out and face everyone, the odds were not on their side and it would be a massacre if they tried. It was not worth it, they just had to wait for a better opportunity.

* * *

As dusk once again approached, everyone was rested and just wanted to get out of there. Kelly was more or less awake, her eyes had suddenly opened in horror a few hours back and Sabrina had been quick to give her a double dose of morphine, now when they had it. They had already moved her over to the makeshift bed behind Bano, the guy who had been on it was strong enough to ride on top of Bano instead. Everyone was prepared to leave the place the moment they had a second to spare, but the streets were still filled with Afghans who were just waiting for them to come out from their hiding spot. They knew where the Americans were hiding, it was the only place left to search in town, but no one dared to actually enter the place, afraid of their own lives and safety.

"Guys, something is happening." The man by the window said, and Sabrina who was pacing restlessly hurried to the window, sitting down next to the sergeant.

"What are they doing? And what is that fucking sound?" The sergeant said in confusion as Sabrina watched and listened. There was a distinct sound coming from far away. A man, singing in Arabic with a beautiful voice. Through all the blood and pain and hurt and anger that was going on in the village, the sound of the man's voice had immediately made every single soul stop. All of them knew within a second what was going on and they went into a well known routine.

"What is that sound? And what's going on?" The sergeant asked Sabrina again as he realized she knew what was happening.

"The sound means that it's Maghrib, dusk, and the man we can hear is a muezzin, the mu'adhhin, from a mosque's, minaret." Sabrina said, looking outside in fascination how all the men who had just been waiting to kill, now turned around towards Kaba in Mekka and got down on their knees to pray to Allah. Allahu akbar.

"If we're to leave, this is our chance. They don't do anything when they pray. Nothing is allowed to interfere, they pray with respect and obeisance to Allah. They don't look around, they don't talk to anyone, they won't eat or drink, nor laugh or cry. As they are praying they are talking to Allah and won't have time to do anything else. Especially not attack other people. They just won't attack us while praying." Sabrina whispered, and the sergeant looked over at her for a second before rushing to his feet.

"We're leaving, let's go!"

Everyone had been waiting for that order and everyone immediately moved out. Bano had been inside of the ruins since there was a huge hole in one of the back walls, and now Kris led her outside, with an injured man on her back and Kelly on the bed, completely covered with a blanket to make it look like if she had died. Everyone quietly and slowly moved out, not wanting to startle anyone with a rifle, but as they looked at the huge amount of men who was on their knees, mumbling in Arabic, they realized no one was even aware of them walking besides them. Their rifles had been put aside, they had cleaned themselves and their hearts were with Allah at the moment. They would not attack.

The Americans all looked over at each other, sent a small thanks to Allah for making his people love and respect him so much, before they got the hell out of there.


	24. Help wanted, Help arrived

**It might seem to be coming to an end, but don't worry, there's still a baby to be born too! ;D Thank you all for your patient waiting and support. **

**Lyrics: Rise Against - Built to Last**

* * *

**Chapter 23 - Help wanted, Help arrived**

_As we've seen around the world  
We won't go away__  
Cause we'll always feel this way_  
_ We're here to stay_  
_ And our impact will be felt_  
_ We won't go away_  
_ If we feel it, if we feel it_  
_ We're here to stay_  
_ Built to last_

"Kelly, how are you feeling?"

Kelly opened her eyes and looked up at Kris who was sitting next to her on the bed as the caravan of American's once again had stopped to take a break. Kelly looked at Kris with dry, tired eyes as she nodded a small "I'll be okay" that only Kris could read. Kris smiled as she let her hand trail over Kelly's cheek before offering Kelly some water, holding her head she helped her drink a few sips before Kelly laid back down in exhaustion.

"Do you know when we'll be back?" Kelly whispered, and Kris shook her head.

"No, I think we're lost but the sergeant is refusing to confess that. Sabrina and he has been butting heads the last five hours on which direction to go towards but he refuses to listen to her.

Kelly just sighed, not having words enough energy to express her dislike of the sergeant. He sure was a male chauvinist pig and he also refused to take directions. Especially from Sabrina. She was just a chick and he wouldn't listen to her or follow her advice, even though he knew she was right. Instead of the sergeant listening to Sabrina's directions, they had walked all night and everyone was sick and tired, and just wanted to get back to base.

"We should be there by now, but due to that moron who think he is something cause he's gone to military school we're still walking. Still walking! I can't even feel my feet anymore and I have blisters by the size of apples of my feet. These shoes are not good for walking and the military should be able to provide better shoes for us, you know? There are so awesome shoes out there, you know what we should get? We should get some puma's, Joe Namath has those shoes so why would've we be able to get them? We serve the country for crying out loud!"

Kelly closed her eyes as she listened to Jill's random rambling, knowing Jill was just as tired of all this as everyone else. Closing her eyes she forced the pain from her side back into her head as she listened to the now younger Munroe butting heads with the oldest, not being able to listen to her sister as Jill kept rambling.

"Jill, we've all had enough! I can't feel my feet either, I have blisters too, believe me, you're not the only one. We've been here forever and we ALL wants to get home, not just you. But you complaining is making it all much worse and it's making my head boil so would you please just shut up!"

Kelly opened her eyes, looking over towards the two sisters. Jill had stopped dead in her tracks, just staring at her younger sister with a dead cold glare. Never before had Kris screamed at her like that, sure they had fought more times than she could remember, but never before like this and Jill knew she had hurt her sister. It had not been her intentions but she had done it and she knew it very well, the anger she could see in Kris' eyes were now hurting Jill more than the actual words.

Not knowing what to say, Jill walked up closer to Kris and put her forehead towards hers. Their eyes met and Kris couldn't help but to make a small smile. Jill smiled back, and Kris draped an arm around Jill. Kris put her head towards Jill's shoulder as the two of them kept walking, knowing that all of them were hurt, tired and sore, but they were all still here and if the sergeant would give up and listen to Sabrina who was still complaining loudly over the sergeants awful sense of orientation, they would soon be back to base. But as Kelly heard the sergeant scream at Sabrina for complaining too much, she knew it could be a long road home.

"I am in command here, and you girls think you are something for surviving, well you're not the only ones who did. I don't care what you fucking say and if you don't shut the fuck up I am gonna put a bullet in you. You women are making me sick!"

* * *

In the same time a man was leading a group of five military men. He had signed up for this himself, knowing his angels were in trouble. He had called several times and everything had been cleared up. The angels were allowed to go home, they did not have to stay any longer. The problem was just that they were missing. Missing in Afghanistan. And Charlie was getting worried. He sure knew his angels could handle most things coming their way, but they had been in this foreign country for 28 days now. They had been out on the field for 13. And no one had been able to get in touch with them, no one knew if they were still alive or not. But he had heard rumours, rumours about a super woman who had brought down the entire top of the Afghan mafia and how the super woman had saved the lives of several of her country men – especially the lives of three other women.

Charlie knew they were alive. And hearing that, he had enlisted and gotten on the first airplane over there. Bosley had stayed home, he was still babysitting Ella who was missing her mother like crazy and from what Bosley had told him, it was taking a lot of energy to try and keep the little girl happy. Bosley had told him that they had been up for hours one night as he tried to explain to Ella why Kelly had left her, that she was just gone for a little bit and that she would return. Ella had been terrified of being left alone by yet another mother and even though she enjoyed staying with "Boffley", she still wanted and needed her mother.

But Charlie knew that if there was anyone who could keep Ella smiling and make her feel safe, it sure was Boffley. A man with a true heart of gold and who could put a smile on any person within a minute. We would take people under their wings and help them through anything, and even though the angels loved teasing him for screwing up at times, Charlie knew the angels would not feel the same about working in the agency without Bosley. He kept their spirits up at bad times and he was their rock and strength through difficult times. At the moment, he would not be with is angels, but he was protecting and comforting another little angel and that little girl sure meant the world for all of them who was out on the field. As long as Kelly knew Ella was safe, she would do absolutely anything to be able to return to her, and she obviously had according to the rumors.

Charlie had been out for two days on the field with these men, and they had backtracked to where they last heard that Kelly had been. They must've missed them by not too long and he was getting agitated, he wanted to find them before any other Afghans did.

* * *

"Jill, how do you know how Charlie felt at the time?" Kris said, looking over at Jill who was pressing her head into the pillow, sweat soaking her body and the bed. Her body was pale and she was panting hard, trying to catch her breath between contractions once again.

"Educated… guess." Jill giggled as she let her head fall down towards the top of Peggy's head. Peggy was still in the bed next to Jill, being very upset and very worried. Jill had her arm around her, holding her hand, and every time a contraction came – which came every other minute by now – Jill jerked up, almost causing Peggy to fall of the bed, but so far she had only managed to push down some glasses standing on the night stand, and hitting Kris in the face a couple of times when her hands flailed searching for balance.

"You make lots of educated guesses." Kelly smiled, earning a small smile back from a very tired Jill.

"That's because I am educated Kelly."

Kelly just rolled her eyes as she looked over at the other angels who all looked at each other confused.

"So did you get to meet Charlie? Did he come for you?" Janet asked, reaching forward on the chair she was sitting on, her eyes gleaming with anticipation just as the other's. Except Peggy Lou though, since all her attention was on Jill. The two of them had truly became good friends, Jill was always over at the Garrett's house and Peggy was pretty much always home unless she was studying. Peggy loved Jill, she had fallen for her immediately and always stayed behind Jill as a tail, while Jill officially couldn't stand Peggy at all, thinking she was too loud, too much over the place, too much hair and just too much in general. But everyone in the room knew Jill as a hand knew its glove, and they all knew Jill loved Peggy dearly. Watching them now, Jill hugging Peggy and Peggy's worried eyes observing Jill's smallest motion, it was easy to see just how close friends they had become.

"He did come for us. At the time though, we had no idea it was him, but now afterwards, we know it was him."

"At the time, we thought he was just annoying since he refused to talk to us." Kris smiled, shaking her head slightly with a small laugh as she went back in time.

* * *

Kelly fell asleep on the makeshift bed that Bano was pulling as the other's kept walking. They had walked all night and the soft morning glow had disappeared several hours ago, getting replaced with hard, smoldering sunlight. The water was long gone and they all knew that if they didn't get back or get to a village with a water storage or a well soon, they would have major problems on their hands. The angels didn't even want to imagine going to the desert for two weeks, then die from thirst on the last days. That would be ridiculous, just a waste of time.

Everyone was still complaining. Jill was complaining about being hungry, Sabrina was complaining over the sergeant, the sergeant was complaining over Sabrina complaining about him and Jill complaining about hunger, and Kris complained about the other's complaining. Lots of the guys were raising the voice of disliking too, and the buzzing voices going on in the little group was making everyone very much on edge.

The sight of people moving at the end of the road was making all of them stop suddenly in their footprints, everyone breathing heavily as they wondered if there was fellow countrymen or was it enemies? They were pretty much out of ammo, food and water, most of them were hurt and injured and all of them was exhausted. To make it short, no one of them would be able to stand their own in a face to face combat. It could end in a bloodbath and it made all of them very worried. Not now. Not this close to home. Not again.

As the other group saw them, one of the sweetest sounds in the world was heard as someone from that group yelled "Donny!"

The sergeant laughed out loud before screaming "Marie!" back towards them, and it didn't take long before the groups joined up, the new group containing one major and a handful of privates, all of them looking very pleased to see them all. Everyone met each other with happy laughs and some of the guys even hugged, the reunion being sweet and chummy. The major walked up to the sergeant, grabbing his arm and pulled him aside and talked for a minute before they returned to the group. The major nodded to the angels, not saying a word but nodding as hallo before walked up to Bano. Pulling his hand over the fur he walked back to the makeshift bed and crunched down next to Kelly who was still sleeping. He put the back of his hand towards her pale, but yet dusty, scraped and sunburned cheek before kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Everything will be alright angel. I'm taking you home." Charlie whispered quietly, in the same time as Kelly opened her eyes slowly, her eyelids fluttering, wondering who was breathing on her. Her eyes locked with Charlie's for a second, before he smiled and straightened his legs, walking away to the Sergeant.

* * *

It only took another few hours before the gang came back to base, and everyone was taken to different places, some to be checked over and others to the tents that served food and had fresh water. All of the angels were transferred to the military hospital, even Sabrina even though she said she had no physical injured, she was just exhausted, but the Sergeant told her that the Major had requested all four of them to have the best treatment there was. Sabrina and Kris helped Kelly to stand up, her entire body screamed but she was, just like all of them, just so relieved to finally be back to base. Right now, it was the best feeling in the world and none of them could wait to get back to Los Angeles. They were one step closer now as three of the angels slowly walked up to the hospital base, Kelly being held upright by both Sabrina and Kris.

"What are we to do with the animal?"

Kelly stopped walked as she heard the one of the men talk about Bano, and all three angels turned around towards the big animal.

"Let's just shoot it. It's served its purpose. Makes a great stew." The sergeant laughed, loading his rifle.

Kelly broke free from Sabrina and Kris and walked with determined steps up to the sergeant who just looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"If you can walk that good you should've walked before like the ones of us who actually are soldiers, instead of getting dragged behind a big ugly animal."

Kelly didn't say anything, but a small hint of a grin could be seen as she looked into the sergeant's eyes, before sending him a powerful straight right hook to the jawbone. The sergeant's head lulled over rapidly to the side, before regaining his composure and looking over at Kelly with anger in his eyes.

"It's a fucking camel you moron!"

"Her name is Bano. She saved my life, and due to me she lost her only child. She deserves something better than becoming stew. She has a mightier heart and has more courage than you will ever have, you're nothing but a big shitload of pure scum." Kelly growled, as she shoved him aside, walking over to the pretty animal, putting her hands on top of Bano's head. Not being able to raise her hands all the way up, Bano lowered her head and gently put the entire big head towards Kelly's upper body.

* * *

"You go Kelly!" Kamili applauded, the others applauding with her as Kelly bowed slightly. "That was awesome, I wish I had been able to punch my sergeants without getting into more trouble."

"I adore you for standing up for her even though she was "just" a camel." Sandra smiled, being the animal lover herself she was so happy to hear how other people also cared about the wonderful beings that existed out there.

"That camel will always have a special place in my heart. She was fantastic, and she did save my life. I could not let the men kill her, there was just no way, I'd rather have them shoot me instead." Kelly smiled, remembering the farewell like if it was yesterday.

* * *

Bano blew out lightly towards Kelly and Kelly rested against Bano's head, Kelly's helmet been taken off she rested her head between Bano's ears, her arms over the bridge of her nose and palms towards the forehead. Kelly closed her eyes and they both relaxed, they had gone through a lot together and never before had Kelly been so grateful towards an animal.

"I'll let you free honey. You go and find yourself a man and make more beautiful babies, okay? You're a free lady now. Don't let anyone ever make that different. You're the best and I owe my life to you." Kelly whispered into Bano's ear, hoping that the camel would understand her. Kelly's hands then trailed up behind her ears and pulled the halter off, in the same time as Sabrina came and pulled all the things off Bano until she had no equipment nor the bed tied to her anymore. Kelly then gave Bano a last pat on the neck, before Bano slightly nodded to Kelly, before slowly walking out from the base, going out onto new adventures.

Sabrina walked up next to Kelly and put her arm around her again, in the same time as Kris did the same. They both held Kelly as Kelly waved good bye to the big animal, who after walking a bit up a hill, stopped, turned around, let out a long sound followed with a headshake, and then the radiant animal went out of sight.

The three angels stood for a while and looked after her as she had disappeared into the smog that was covering the world. After a moment of silence, Kris squeezed Kelly's hand and their eyes met, the two of them smiling to the other before beginning to walk back to the military hospital tents.

"Let's get you checked over." Kris smiled, and Kelly nodded as the trio walked back.

Walking inside they found the oldest Munroe, half sitting up in a bed surrounded by pillows, and on her stomach was a bowl of soup which she was drinking from with a straw, a big, satisfied grin on her face. The soup and average food on the base was nothing worth cheering for, but haven't eaten in days they were happy with anything they got. And none the less, they all knew that a huge eating party would take place the moment they got back to the land of the free, and the home of the brave.


	25. Welcome home

**Chapter 24 - Welcome home.  
**

"Mommy Kris!"

Kris turned her head to the door as she heard the little girl's voice and her face brightened up into a wide, crystal white smile, newly brushed teeth. They had all been flown to California and all of them except Sabrina had been taken to the hospital for complete check overs. Kris had been thrilled to finally get a shower and be able to brush her teeth. Now she was resting in a hospital bed, waiting for the x-rays to come back and letting the last of the IV drip out.

Turning towards the door she smiled as Ella ran inside, followed by Bosley who happily lifted up the five year old into the bed, and Ella immediately crawled up and hugged Kris tightly before sitting next to her, cuddling towards her chest. Kris winced slightly, her ribs were still hurting from rolling with the truck the first day out on the field, and she was waiting on x-rays from those too, but at the moment she didn't care about a little discomfort. She was able to hold the girl she cared most about in the world and she had missed her so much.

Bosley put a hand on Kris' shoulder and leaned down to kiss her forehead, he was so happy to have his angels back, he had been so worried about them, and Charlie calling him a few days ago telling him that the angels were save, he had just felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. Straightening his back he squeezed her shoulder gently and their eyes met.

"How are you feeling angel?"

"Exhausted, sore, but so much better since we came back here. It's so good to be back in the right part of the world Bosley, you have no idea."

"We've missed you a lot, and I've been so worried about you. Charlie too, of course."

"Kris, we're mommy Kelly?" Ella asked, looking up at Kris with the big green eyes sparkling in excitement, and Kris smiled as she lifted a hand and brushed it over her hair.

"The doctor is looking her over but I'm sure she'll be back very soon honey."

"Is mommy okay?"

"Yes, mommy is okay, don't worry about it. She is going to be so happy to see you." Kris smiled, leaning down she placed a kiss on top of Ella's head, just breathing in the scent of fresh and healthy human beings again. She then took a breath and looked up at Bosley. "Did you hear anything about Jill?"

"I know they were waiting for x-ray plates, but they said her hands don't look too good. I don't know yet if they will have to do surgery or not, I'll pass the word on when I have it."

"What about the branding?"

"I met Sabrina outside the room and she told me they have been cleaning it kinda roughly, making sure it's completely clean."

Kris winced as Bosley spoke and he nodded, a sad looking covering his face as he thought of one of his beloved angels in pain. He did not like that thought even the slightest bit.

"Sabrina told me that they tried cleaning it with just giving her painkillers at first but they sedated her after a while, she was just in too much pain. What they said about that was that they will clean it thoroughly and cover it, and then keep cleaning and changing compresses for a while until it's healed and then later she can think of having plastic surgery to remove it."

Kris nodded, it was about the information she had gotten too, and as she was thinking about her sister, the door opened and Kelly in a wheelchair was rolled inside. She was talking to the nurse who was pushing the chair and didn't realize at first that they had guests in the room. But at the sound of her daughter's voice, she immediately whipped her head around and pressed her feet into the ground, forcing the wheelchair to stop. She rose and walked straight over to Kris' bed, sitting down into it as she at first just stared at Ella who was looking at her with a smile.

Ella crawled over and cuddled down into Kelly's lap, pulling her small arms around her stomach, as Kelly leaned her head down and let her cheek rest towards Ella's head, as the tears of relief started pouring out of her. Kelly could not stop the tears that begun rolling down her cheeks, and Kris moved around carefully, crawling over too and putting her arms around Kelly and Ella. The three of them held each other for a long time, just breathing in the others' existence and the fact that they were all together again and safe.

* * *

A few days later, everyone was home in their own houses, their own beds. Millions of emotions were going through them, but being able to come home had helped out so much. Jill was staying with Kris, with broken fingers and a broken wrist she couldn't do much by herself, and during the few nights in safety, Kelly had realized Kris was tormented by nightmares. At the hospital, Kelly hadn't slept well herself and she had been able to get over to Kris' side in an instant to hold her as Kris broke down in tears. They had just gone through so much and they all knew they would have a long road of accepting and moving on ahead of themselves.

Kris bullet wound had been checked over and luckily to Sabrina's skilled hands, the bullet wound looked as good as it could. There was a major crack in the shoulder blade and she had some cracked and bruised ribs from the truck flipping, but she was okay. Kelly too had hairline fractures in one of her shoulder blades, much smaller than Kris' though, from jumping from the building. One of her ribs had been badly shattered from the bullet and they had performed a surgery to remove bits of bone and stabilize it as much as possible, but aside from that, all of them had mostly smaller injuries that would heal by themselves with time. Jill's branding was healing fine, but removing it would be done with plastic surgery when she was healed completely.

Finally being able to come home, Bosley was driving his angels home, first dropping the Munroes off at the beach house, then driving Kelly home and picking up Ella from school in the same time. Ella was thrilled about seeing her mother in the car and happily jumped inside, Bosley helping her getting the seatbelt on before they went to Kelly's yellow house. Ella was usually a girl who ran inside to make sure she didn't miss the kids' show at TV, but today she was walking next to her mother, holding onto Kelly's hand and letting her mother take her time into the house. Bosley stayed and cooked dinner for them as Kelly rested in her bed.

As Bosley was in the kitchen, he heard the patter of the young girl's feet as she walked inside. He turned around and saw the five year old standing not too far behind him, holding LillyBeth in her arms. She usually had her doll Holly but when Kelly went away, Ella took LillyBeth instead. She smelled like mama and the scent had calmed her down.

"Hey Ella." Bosley smiled as Ella went up next to him, just looking up at him with big eyes.

"Hey Boffley." She whispered.

"What is it?"

"Do you think mommy is okay if I go to her?" Ella asked, and Bosley nodded, brushing her hair with his fingers and smiling at her.

"You go into her and see. I think she's fine and would love your company."

Ella smiled before turning around and hurrying into her mother's room, carefully pulling up the door and looking inside she saw Kelly lying on her side in the bed. Her eyes opened and looked towards the door as she heard it open and she smiled tiredly as she saw Ella.

"Come here sweetie." Kelly whispered and Ella carefully climbed up into the bed and laid down onto her side next to Kelly, facing her. Kelly took her small hand in hers and smiled gently towards her.

"Have you bee doing okay while I was gone?" Kelly asked, and Ella nodded a little, then stopped halfway and shook her head.

"I missed you really a lot." Ella said, and Kelly could see her girl tearing up. "I didn't know if you would return."

Kelly swallowed hard, her daughter's voice cracking towards the end of the sentence, and Kelly moved closer and draped her arm around Ella.

"I told you I would return and I did right? It took a little longer than planned but I will not leave you sweetie. I would never let anyone part us. I love you too much for that."

Ella smiled as she crawled as close to Kelly as she could, cuddling towards her chest and just enjoying having her mother close. She was finally home and safe.

* * *

"No, Kelly, I don't want it."

"Come on Jill, it's good for you."

"No, get away, I really don't want it. I might eat anything but that is one thing I will not put into my mouth no matter how hard you beg me. It won't happen, under any circomstances. I am not like you guys think, I am not a pig that would eat anything."

All the others looked around at each other before they broke out in loud laughter, both Kris and Kelly groaning as they did due to the pain in the ribs it cost them. But a little pain was absolutely okay when it was due to laughter, cause loud laughter must be one of the best medicines there are. Puppies being another.

"Jill, you do eat anything, you are a pig. Now eat. It's healthy." Kelly giggled as she wiped her tears, still holding onto the fork with broccoli in her hand, holding it in Jill's direction. They were having a feast at the beach house, Bosley, the angels, Sabrina's father, and Ella. Bosley had called in a catering business and they had dropped off loads of food. Since Jill's arms were so bad and she had casts on both arms she was not able to hold onto her fork, so the others had taken turns feeding her, which seemed to be a never ending job. As the catering food was all out, they had gone through the Munroe's freezer with all the groceries Bosley had bought for them. He had been a sweetheart and cleaned out rotten food and replaced it with new when he heard they were coming home, he had taken care of their mail and he had watered their plants, basically taking care of their places.

Now they were at the table, halfway through the groceries, and Kelly was trying to feed Jill with broccoli.

"Okay, here I'll spear it with chicken too." Kelly smiled, putting up some chicken onto the fork, bringing it back up towards Jill's face. She kept her mouth closed hard and shaking her head, and Kelly couldn't help but to laugh again. She looked like Ella when she didn't want something.

"Kelly that broccoli has been in our freezer since we met. No, I wont eat it, you can't make me and I won't be fooled, you cant mask that with chicken, I'm just not that stupid."

Kelly smiled before she dipped the broccoli and chicken into some dipped cheese, making sure it got covered completely, before bringing it up to Jill's face again. This time Jill didn't even hesitate, instead she opened her mouth and sucked in the entire fork, Kelly had to hold onto it and pull it out herself. Jill swallowed and smiled happily at the good taste in her mouth, wanting more.

They were having a great day, eating, talking and just enjoying being back home, everyone still together and well and that they got their happily ever after on this story. They sure had thought they would die several times, but they had made it through it, and a big celebration had definitely been in order. Now their pants were unbuttoned and there were dishes in the entire house, but they were all as happy as could be.

* * *

"Oh my Goooood!" Jill grunted as she once again jerked up into sitting position, clutching her tummy with one hand and squeezing Peggy's hand with the other, closing here eyes and trying to fight through the pain. Jill's doctor and a nurse was also in the room and they were looking her over as she was fighting with the contractions that were coming in a constant motion.

As it faded out, Jill once again fell back into the bed, her chest heaving up and down in rapid pace as she tried to calm down.

"Well, Jill, you are fully open so we're going to move you over to another room and another bed and let you get this baby out of you, okay?"

"Finally!" Jill panted, wanting to push so bad, but was being told not to do that yet, and it freaked her out.

"Soon you will have your baby out of you, don't worry, everything is looking fine." The doctor smiled as he looked through Jill's chart, taking notes.

"I can… have someone… with me inside… right?" Jill panted as she looked up at the doctor, and he nodded.

"Absolutely, we let in two people."

Jill looked around at everyone, Kris was a safe card but who would the second person be?

Damien was sitting on the floor all freaked out about the situation and he was so worried and tipsy, so nervous, and Jill just shook her head. He was not allowed to go inside, Jill knew that he would freak her out with his nervous behavior, and she did not want nor did she need that inside the delivery room. Peggy on her other side fainted at the sight of blood. She was out of the question.

As Jill was thinking, the nurse and the doctor was releasing her bed and beginning to pull her out of the room, and Kelly patted Jill's shoulder and smiled at her as everyone begun clearing out the room. Jill grabbed onto Kelly's hand and squeezed it hard, looking up at Kelly with big puppy eyes.

"Let me go now, Jill. You'll be fine."

"No, you're not leaving me!" Jill said, rapidly shaking her head and holding onto Kelly's arm with her other hand too, pulling Kelly down. "I need you there! Damien will freak me out and Peggy will faint! I need you in there with me and Kris! Please Kelly I can't deliver my boy without you!"

Kelly rolled her eyes, she did not really want to be in there, because she knew exactly what Jill was like. She would squeeze the living life out of her hand and scream at her and make her want to kill herself, and Kelly was not really looking forward to it.

"Doctor, tell her I have to leave." Kelly pleaded as she looked up at the doctor who smiled back at her.

"Oh, up to two people are allowed in. You can stay."

Kelly rolled her eyes again, looking down at Jill who was on the verge of crying due to Kelly not wanting to be there with her, and she was in so much pain, so scared and so worried and at the moment, she just wanted one of her favorite persons with her. Kelly, not being able to say no to a Jill with those big puppy eyes, and then crying just to top that, sighed and nodded.

"Okay, I will be there."

* * *

**Guys, it is baby time! Let's get Andrew out! :D**


	26. Welcome to the world

**Chapter 25 – Welcome to the world**

"Push!"

"Don't listen to the doc honey, he's an ass." Kelly grunted as Jill clenched her jawbone and growled loudly as she pushed through another contraction. Kris was on the opposite side of Jill with a wet cloth, a hand behind Jill's back and wiping her face, shoulders, neck and chest off as Jill was crying through the pain.

"You're doing great Jill, keep pushing, you're doing great!" Kris encouraged her, knowing what Jill was going through and she was happy that she was there with her.

Kelly was mumbling and complaining over the doctor who had said it was okay for her to be inside, she would rather be outside the room with the others, she had been stunned when Jill wanted her inside. Now she and Kris were dressed in green scrubs and masks over their mouths and coaching Jill through her labors. The doctor was looking up at Kelly as she was complaining at him, and he was rolling his eyes when she was telling him how to do his job.

"Please. I know how to do my job." The doctor said with a smile and Kelly turned towards him.

"I've done this before you know." Kelly said proudly. "Twice!"

"I've done this for over 30 years. 2-5 deliveries a day, you do the math."

"Show off." Kelly said, rolling her eyes, in the same time as Jill jerked up again and pushed, having been lying down for about a second to catch her breath.

"How come you've done it before?"

"Well for some reason my friends just happens to be kidnapped or locked in while being in labor and for some reason I've been the only one there to help out, so, I have." Kelly smiled proudly.

"She helped me with my twins." Kris smiled at the doctor, no one seemed to be focusing on Jill until she let out a loud roar to get everyone's attention.

"You wanna take over then?" The doctor said with a smile, and Kelly's face lit up into a smile too. She managed to untangle her bruised fingers from Jill's hand, and Jill's hand immediately got a grip around the bed instead. Kelly moved over to where the doctor was sitting and he moved aside, letting Kelly take his chair as he stood behind and watched.

"Whaaat?" Jill panted as she got a second to catch her breath again, falling down into the bed. "What are you doing?"

"This is fun!" Kelly smiled, in the same time as the monitor was warning them that another contraction was coming up.

"Push!" Kelly giggled as Jill jerked up again.

"No, not yet!" The doctor said, making Jill's eyes pop up to twice their size as she held her breath.

"Don't push!" Kelly laughed, as the doctor shoved her shoulder a little.

"Now, push!"

"You are confusing me and I don't care who's right and who's wrong but I'm gonna push weather I'm allowed or not!" Jill roared at them, once again pushing for all she was worth.

"Oh, Jill! I see a head!" Kelly laughed excited, then her face turned serious for a second as she met Jill's face with a smile. "He's black."

"I'm going to kill you." Jill said as she fell back onto the pillow.

"I'm kidding. He's only Asian."

"Kelly' shut up." Jill panted, gasping for air as the nurse told Kris to give her some oxygen, whereupon Kris placed the oxygen mask over Jill's face for a little while, to help her breath a little.

"Here comes another contraction." The doctor warned in the same time as he had cleaned out the little one's nose as the head popped out.

"What do you mean? I am done!" Jill panted under the mask.

"You only have a head Jill."

"No I'm done! I can feel it, I'm done! You promised me a steak after this, now I want my steak!" Jill said, shoving the oxygen mask away as Kris looked at her with big confused eyes.

"Jill you kinda have to keep going."

"No, I'm done! Steak!"

"I promise you a steak after you had the baby. Right now you just have a head!"

"That's enough!"

"Alright, but it's going to suck walking around like that." Kelly laughed out loud, the laughter causing Jill's arms to flail and her face turning red. "I am dooo-daaaamn!"

Without having any say at all about it Jill jerked up again and kept pushing, not having much choice really. This little boy was determined to come out.

"Yay for those pesky contractions." Kelly laughed, patting Jill's leg with one hand as she held the baby's head with the other, in the same time as Jill let out a smothered scream through her clenched teeth. "There is a reason to why I adopted."

"Are you going to say that every time someone has a baby?" Kris asked, looking down towards Kelly, who nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, Kelly felt weight into her arms as the little baby came out into her hands, screaming for all its might, in the same time as Jill finally was able to relax for real. Kris one again gave her some oxygen and wiped her off as Kelly cut the cord and then walked up to Jill and placed the baby on top of her chest.

"Congratulations Jill, you are now the proud mother of a black Asian British girl."

Jill's face registered pure shock as she looked down towards the bundle on her chest, the little one had stopped screaming and was now snuggling as close as possible as she tried to get as much scent and warmth as possible.

"It's a girl?" Jill whispered, still staring down at the little bundle, in the same time as the doctor came and lifted it off, cleaning her, weighing and measuring, and put her down in the same time as Damien and Peggy roared inside.

"Honey! Peggy!" Jill hollered, then immediately lowered her voice, not wanting to disturb the little one on her chest. Turning around to her man as she carefully eased up a little, the little baby resting happily on her chest. "Honey, Andrew is a girl."

"Andrew is a gal!" Peggy Lou called out as she danced around the bed, bouncing up and down and knocking things over with her flailing arms before Kelly grabbed onto her upper arms, moved her around and forced her down into the bed. Peggy looked up at Kelly with confused eyes for a second, before turning her attention to Jill and the little bundle on the top of her chest that was resting on her mother's chest after the traumatizing episode she just went through.

"It's obviously not an Andrew." Damien smiled, placing his hand on top of the little girl's back, eyeing her with proud eyes, as Jill just seemed confused.

"My son is my daughter." Jill said, looking down at the little girl and pouted. "You ate my son?"

Kelly laughed out loud before putting both hands over her mouth, looking from one side to the other as everyone else in the room just stared at her. Kelly cleared her throat as she relaxed, sitting down in the bed too next to Kris, placing her chin against Kris' shoulder.

"It's a true Munroe." Kelly smiled, then jumped aside as Kris' hand tried to swat her in the face.

Jill just glared at Kelly for a few seconds before looking back towards the girl, her hand resting on top of the girls' back, Damien's hand had moved to lie on top of Jill's hand.

"There must have been two of you and you ate him. Didn't you? Don't like to your mother, I'll know! I know there was a boy in there and-"

Jill's face suddenly registered pure shock and horror and she looked up at the doctor with big wide eyes, her breathing stopping for a second and her face getting even more pale.

"Doc… There's not… two… right?"

The doctor laughed a little bit before shaking his head.

"Don't worry, she was alone in there."

Jill relaxed and looked back at her girl.

"Oh thank god. If there had been two of you, I might would've had to kill one of you. You look like you're gonna be trouble enough, right?"

The girl moved around a little, moving her arms up and down a little, and Jill nodded as she took that as a yes.

"Figures."

Everyone giggled slightly at Jill, before Damien leaned over and kissed Jill's sweaty forehead, with the sound of Peggy Lou "aaaaaawwww"-ing in the background.

"Great job honey, you've done so well and I am so proud of you. You're absolutely amazing."

"Ya arrre!" Peggy said, bouncing as she did, before touching the girl's hand. "Iiiih, it's so small!"

"Jill, she needs a name." Kris said, still sitting next to Kelly and both of them admiring the little baby that was just fresh out of the oven.

"Can't we call her Andrew?" Jill asked, looking up at her sister, before turning her head towards Damien who was smiling, but in the same time shaking his head.

"No way. What about Annie?"

"Annie Kelly?" Jill asked, putting her head to its side as she still didn't tear her eyes away from the little girl.

Kelly on the other hand, who too had been looking at the girl, now looked up at Jill with a question mark splashed all over her face. The others looked up at Jill too, who still was staring at the little girl.

"Kelly?" Kris, Peggy, Damien and Kelly herself asked in confusion, and as Jill heard all four talk to her, she looked up and smiled towards Kelly, then looked at Damien.

"She delivered my baby safely. I think she needs a namesake."

"Aaaaw!" Both Kris and Peggy Lou called out loudly, as Kelly just rolled her eyes.

"Just perfect. Annie Kelly. Orphan Annie Kelly. I've heard that before. Oh right. The Dunlaps in Oklahoma. Perfect."

Everyone looked oblivious except Kris who put her and on Kelly's knee, patting it gently without the other's even realizing. Kris had heard all the stories, while Jill just had heard some of it. The Dunlaps was one of the families she had heard about, and especially the story about how they left her alone for Christmas, telling the neighbor to look over her as if she were a pet was really a story that tugged at Kris' heart.*

Kelly felt the gentle pat on her knee, and she looked over and smiled at Kris before turning to Jill.

"Jill, truly, I am very happy that you would want to name your daughter after me, it do means a lot, really.

Jill smiled, just simply nodding slightly to Kelly, actions speaking so much more than words at the moment.

"Annie Kelly… Imma call yah Kellie Anne!" Peggy laughed as she moved even closer to the baby girl who now had a name to, and Jill smiled as she gently moved Annie over to Peggy's arms, and Peggy immediately went into 'cutie-mood', holding Annie close to her own, huge chest, cuddling with the newborn who didn't seem to understand a thing. "Imma name mah child Kelly too."

Kelly rolled her eyes as she looked over Peggy, but no matter how annoying Kelly would ever find the blonde bombshell, she could not help but to confess how absolutely adorable Peggy and Annie were together.

"When I'm dead and gone, all of you will be glad you have your children named after me." Kelly smiled, leaning her head back towards Kris who patted her cheek in return.

"Knowing you, we'll all be dead and you'll be 110 and outliving the kids." Kris laughed. "You seem to survive anything."

"Please. If I make it to 35 I'll be lucky." Kelly said, rolling her eyes. "In this line of work? Geez. Jill, keep Annie out of this business."

"We will all see to that." Kris said, and everyone in the bed agreed, well, except Peggy who was all up into cuddling and baby-talking to the newest member of the big family.

Everyone looked over at the doctor who had been moving around them and taking care of machines and other things while they all got acquainted with the baby girl, and now the doctor came up next to Jill, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking down at Jill who smiled tiredly up against him.

"Just plain exhausted. And I feel like I need to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, I expect the placenta to be coming out in a bit. Let me check." The doctor smiled, as Jill frowned.

"Placenta? Did I sign up for that?"

The doctor laughed as he walked past the gang on the bed, people moving around a little to make sure Jill had her space. Upon meeting Kelly's eyes he raised an eyebrow.

"You performed the delivery well, have you ever dealt with this part too?"

Kelly shook her head while rolling her eyes, letting out a little snort. "No thanks, you can do it, I washed off already, but I guess it's nothing compared to what I see during work hours."

"Good." The doctor smiled before lifted Jill's cover, then looking up at her. "Little push, Jill."

The other's in the room, not being able to keep their curiosity away, just had to look at the grey-bluish goo mixed with various slime and blood coming out of Jill, and all of them suddenly wished they hadn't.

"... oh my GOD. Jill! There's some kind of alien coming out of you." Kelly let out, staring at the disgusting yuck that the doctor moved over to a bowl and for some reason kept poking in.

Jill had managed to catch a glimpse of it as he moved over it to the bowl, and since then she had just been staring towards it, eyes wide open in shock, and her mouth hanging open just like Kris' and Damien's were too. Peggy on the other hand hadn't noticed a thing since she was busy playing with the baby girl in her arms.

"I… I don't mind people being shot to death or killed by a car and having their insides on the outside, but that… THAT… is gross." Kelly whispered, as she kept staring at the placenta, until she was finally able to tear her eyes away, shaking her head and then her arms, moving on until she was shaking the disgust out of her body.

* * *

"Welcome home!"

Jill smiled brightly at her friends as they greeted her as she walked inside her house, Damien holding a tight grip around her waist as she held onto her baby girl towards her chest. Sandra, Janet, Kamili and Aurore had left the hospital to go and clean up at Jill's place and now as the others came home, there was cake on the table and several small gifts around an enormous package. Jill walked into the house and put the sleeping Annie down into a crib and everyone quickly gathered up around her, just staring at the sleeping beauty who looked so at peace.

"She's so beautiful Jill." Kris whispered, looking up to where she thought her sister would be, but failing to see her she turned around. Not all too surprising, she found her sister in the couch close to all the packaged, putting cake over onto a plate and grabbing a spoon as she leaned back towards the soft backrest of the couch.

The others all noticed her and smiled as they went over there to join her, all of them getting some cake and happily talking and laughing, the good mood spreading among them quickly. This was a day for joy and nothing was going to spoil it.

"Open presents Jill!" Peggy Lou laughed and Jill yawned as she stretched for the big gift, of course. Jill was not famous for going on the small gifts first, she always started on the biggest one, and today was no exception.

"That's from me!" Peggy laughed happily, even bouncing in the couch as she was so excited about Jill opening her package first. Everyone in the room was chitchatting, talking and enjoying the cake, but when Jill pulled the gift wrapper off, the entire room got quiet for several seconds, no one dared to speak. Everyone was just staring at the content of the big gift, the gift was about 3 feet long, had a green-turquoise blue surface with darker banding and black feet. It was moving.

Of course Peggy Lou Sparks had gotten them a moving present for the newborn baby.

"Peggy… That is…"

"He is a Grand Cayman Iguana, I got him from the zoo where I work at because they needed someone to take care of him for a few months or so as he grows up, before they can let him out into the park, and I thought well, it's not good to have a furry animal near a baby and he has no fur at all so it should be fine!"

"Peggy, it's 3 feet long!" Damien let out, his eyes wide open as he stared at the giant lizard.

"He's expected to be around 5 feet, but that's okay, he'll grown into his feet!" Peggy added with a smile.

"But Peggy… It's..."

"His name is Fluffy." Peggy said proudly, releasing the iguana out into the house from the cage he had been inside, as the others groaned loudly, with an exception of Kelly of course who was hiding her giggles behind her hand, trying not to die from laughter. She was enjoying this to its fullo, just like the dear Peggy Lou Sparks.

* * *

***Angel's Beginnings: Deleted Scenes**, written by kp1185


	27. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Kelly sighed as she walked in through the door, Peggy and Aurore was chitchatting like two muppets behind her about what had happened during the day. Kelly had turned off her ears a long time ago, not having the energy to listen to them. After telling, reliving, the entire story of what had happened, she felt emotionally drained right to the core.

The last hours had truly been a roller coaster ride. Never before had she ever gone through with anyone what had happened and yes, it had been very difficult to speak through it all, but at the same time, she now felt relief like she had never felt before. A huge heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders, a weight so old she had almost forgotten what was pushing her down.

Every other time she had thought back of those days she had always felt hatred towards human kind and painful memories of hurt and pain always came to mind. But now, as she had walked across the street from Jill's place, breathing in the cold February night, she felt proud. She felt proud of herself and what she had done over there, she felt proud that she had been able to get her friends out and away from the place and that they were all still alive as they returned to base.

Walking into the house, she left the sisters in the kitchen as she walked upstairs. She had something in mind, something she had never before bothered to even look at. She had never felt worthy enough for an award such as them, but having gone through everything she had done and realizing how much her friends looked up at her for guidance, help and comfort, she knew deep inside that she had earned it. She let her mind wander off as she walked up the stairs, remembering a day which now seemed like an eternity ago.

* * *

"Kris left me the medal on my kitchen table after she had gotten it for me. I didn't want it, and I had told her that, but she's a very persistent lady. She went and accepted the medal for me, and just left it for me without forcing me to look at it or anything, she always let me take my own time and she never pushed me. But I knew, sure I knew, that she was sad that I hadn't been there to accept it, but I just couldn't see myself wear a medal of honor when so many other brave and honorable men had lost their lives out there. Who was I to brag with a medallion around my neck just because I obviously had more luck than other people dressed in American colors? I couldn't see that I had any right to do that, it just felt like I was laughing the families of the other men straight into their faces. I didn't _deserve_ it. How can anyone possibly deserve an award for staying alive and doing what was necessary? Ridiculous.

Just like that day, and even though I lived back in Los Angeles then, I am now walking up a stair, finding the cartoon box with picture frames and books, clothes and other stuff from my past days that I never use, look at or even enjoy, I just can't seem to find the courage to throw it out. I know how much it means to me, even if it holds a very sore place within me, all of these things are part of me, a part of who I am and what I've become. I've grown more than I possibly thought I could the last couple of years. I hardly remember who I was back at the police academy. A young, energetic woman who, sure, I had seen things no child should see or go through, and I knew about the dark side of life at an early age, but still while being at the Police Academy, meeting Sabrina and Jill, working for Charlie, I found a light inside of me, I found a little bit of hope that I held on to. My life could change from the juvenile I was, I believed I could turn my life around completely and it would be amazing.

But life had not turned out completely as she thought, and upon seeing and going through all of the bad things she had during the years with Charlie, she had learned to always keep a shell up to make sure you don't get hurt, always be on guard and don't you dare trust anyone. You don't have time to play soft, you can't let anyone rule over you and don't ever show fear. Always being on guard and not being able to trust anyone had changed my energetic and loving behavior and I had grown into a killing machine without emotions. Perhaps not really, but during their stay in Afghanistan that's how I had felt, and it did scare me shitless back then. I had felt what I was becoming and I just wanted to stop it. Now, so many years have passed and I know my dark side is just growing more and more every day. It do scares me, especially after the fairytale-case where we all got to watch way too close how much Zeke suddenly had changed. That case will probably always remain as a deep scar inside my chest.

Reaching the box, I find the black box almost immediately, and taking it in my hand I realize that it feels just like it did back then, in 1979. That was 5 years ago, but it felt like both a lifetime ago, just as I also remember it all like it was yesterday. Memories have that funny thing about them. The black velvet box feels a little more rugged than it did back then, but the layer is still soft and well preserved. Back then, it was on the table, and I remembered pulling my hand gently over it, letting my fingers touch the soft fabric. The same as I'm doing now, just letting the tips of my fingers slide over the black velvet, closing my eyes to really comprehend how it feels – just like I did back then.

Then finding the golden buckle along one of the sides of the box, just as back then I let my fingers easily unlatch it and it opens up carefully, softly without a sound. Nothing seems to have changed, and it suddenly feels like I'm the other Kelly again, the younger Kelly from years back. Before Washington, before a new lifetime started. A new lifetime, which I would consider my fourth try on life. My first had been my childhood, a dark forest with very little light in it. Getting accepted to the Academy had made me touch the light and that had become part two in my life. Then being sent off to Afghanistan had changed it all. Ruined the sunlight I had inside of me, the emotions, the memories, the smell from dead corpses, the sound of children being blown up, they had all etched into my mind and it is nothing I will ever get rid off. But today I truly feel like I've learned how to accept it and move forward.

The fourth change was after being shot, that's when I know I started closing people out completely, not trusting a living soul really, and then Zeke's craziness had just not helped me at all. I am scared, sure I am, but I will make it through everything that is thrown at me, because that is just who I am. I am Kelly. I am superwoman.

And just like that day about five years ago, as I had unhatched the buckle and opened my eyes, the beautiful medal is lying on front of me on white silk that doesn't seem to have age a single day since the last time I looked at it. The blue, moiré silk neckband with the stars in the middle on the ribbon bar, and then underneath it was the eagle spreading out its above the five-pointed star which was laid on top of a green wreath. It hasn't changed much the last years, and I know it won't change the upcoming years either. The material things doesn't change more than what dirt, air and wind can do to it, but us humans, we seem to change every day.

Looking at the medal though, I still don't see myself as a hero. I never thought of myself as much as a hero, but everyone else seems to think so. Not just back then, but still now and then people uses that word. _Hero_. Maybe that makes me a hero, because people see me as a strong person, I am a leader and the most important to me, is that I am still loved by a family that I never expected to have. If they wish to call me for a four letter word, it's okay by me, but that's not up for me to decide. I never asked to be a hero, it just, well, turned out that way. As long as I am surrounded by loved ones, why should I care if they call me 'hero' or by any other word? I've almost lost so many of them, my loved ones, at times, and it scares me so much. But I know that as long as I have people around me who loves me and that I love with all my heart, I will live on for eternity.

Closing the box again, just like I did five years ago, I know this is a finished chapter in another of my many stories I will tell you throughout my life. Hopefully I have so many more to share with you all, but this, this is now closed with a golden buckle, hidden behind a black velvet layer and tucked away into a box with things I hide from the world. Just like I hid this five years ago, I am once again putting it aside. I will always remember the time I sent over there, it's something I always carry with me. The difference is that the memory is not on top of my shoulders anymore, but it's stored inside my heart.

_Semper Fi. Do or die, sir."_

* * *

**The end.**_  
_


End file.
